A series of iron(II)
metallacycles based on a saturated PNPNP framework
has been prepared by a simple metal-templated approach, incorporating
various central phosphorus donor groups. The reaction of [Cp*(CO)Fe{P(OMe)2(NPh)}2]Li (Cp* = η5-C5Me5) with RPCl2 (R = Ph, OMe, NEt2) afforded a pair of isomeric metallacycle complexes, [Cp*(CO)Fe{κ2-P
1,P
3-P1(OMe)2N(Ph)P2(R)N(Ph)P3(OMe)2}]PF6. For all cases of R, the configurational
isomers were successfully separated, and their geometric arrangements
were established through single-crystal X-ray analyses. UV light irradiation
of the isomers bearing R = Ph provided the same product, [Cp*Fe{κ3-P
1,P
2,P
3-P(OMe)2N(Ph)P(Ph)N(Ph)P(OMe)2}]PF6, via intramolecular coordination of the central
phosphorus atom to the iron center. The isomers also reacted with
ClAu(tht) (tht = tetrahydrothiophene) to provide the corresponding
iron–gold bimetallic complexes via κ2-P
1,P
3-κ1-P
2-coordination of the PNPNP
ligand, revealing their utility as building blocks for multimetallic
architectures.