Influence of the central metal on the crystal structures and electronic structures of biferrocene trinuclear complexes

Five metal-bridged biferrocene complexes of the Schiff-base ligand (HL = S-benzyl-N-(ferrocenyl-1-methyl-methylidene)dithiocarbazate) have been studied by single crystal X-ray diffraction and ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. The crystal structures of the complexes show that the central metal ions are tetra-coordinated by two ligands in two modes: the central d⁸ transition metal ions (Ni²⁺, Pd²⁺, and Pt²⁺) are nearly square-planar coordinated and the d¹⁰ transition metal ions (Zn²⁺ and Cd²⁺) are tetrahedrally coordinated. Interestingly, the isomer shifts in ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy are also of two kinds: d⁸ transition metal ions (0.097-0.247 mm/s) and d¹⁰ transition metal ions (0.416-0.435 mm/s).