Reactions in the Ligand Sphere of Iron(II): Synthesis of Crown Ethers
Graphical Abstract
The iron sandwich complex 2 containing two [12]crown-4 ligands is formed upon irradiation of the arene-iron complexes 1 in the presence of ethyleneoxide. The Lewis acid activity of the intermediate iron complex that is photochemically formed is decisive for this specific crown ether synthesis. The structure of 2 was determined by X-ray diffraction.