Synthesis, structural characterization and electrochemical study of 1,1′-ferrocenylene labeled amino acids

Unsymmetrical 1,1′-disubstituted ferrocenes bearing an amino acid moiety and a conjugated electron density controlling substituent were synthesized conveniently starting from 1,1′-ferrocenedicarbaldehyde. The novel ferrocene amino acid derivatives were completely characterized from their MS, 1H NMR and 13C NMR spectra. Their electrochemical behavior was studied by cyclic voltammetry. Their formal redox potentials Ef were slightly influenced by the nature of the amino acid and mainly by the kind of the ethenyl substituent. Furthermore all the (Z)-isomers exhibited a slight anodic shift compared with the corresponding (E)-isomers.