An Alternative Method for Preparing Methyl 2-Ferrocenyl-2-oxo-acetate

Because of the continuous interest in ferrocene chemistry, there is a sustained demand for various ferrocenic building blocks, especially small molecules with useful chemical functional groups, sometimes containing multiple groups. Our interest in ferrocene ketoesters (ω-ferrocenyl-ω-ketoesters) was...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Pascal Pigeon, Hugo Hapel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Molbank
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1422-8599/2025/2/M2009
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849431653511856128
author Pascal Pigeon
Hugo Hapel
author_facet Pascal Pigeon
Hugo Hapel
author_sort Pascal Pigeon
collection DOAJ
description Because of the continuous interest in ferrocene chemistry, there is a sustained demand for various ferrocenic building blocks, especially small molecules with useful chemical functional groups, sometimes containing multiple groups. Our interest in ferrocene ketoesters (ω-ferrocenyl-ω-ketoesters) was motivated by the synthesis of esters and subsequently alcohols of ferrociphenols. However, from a bibliographic survey, only one publication dated from 1964 reports the two-step synthesis (six-step synthesis from ferrocene) of methyl 2-ferrocenyl-2-oxoacetate, the simplest member of this family of compounds, with no further developments since. We hypothesized that a simpler method might exist, such as the Friedel–Crafts method. By focusing on our experiments to use aluminum trichloride as the catalyst, we managed to achieve the synthesis of FcCOCOOMe in a single step, albeit with a very low yield, regardless of reaction time, temperature, amount of aluminum chloride and reagents concentration. Nevertheless, considering the time saved, simplicity, and the use of less hazardous and less expensive reagents, this method offers certain advantages for synthesizing this building block.
format Article
id doaj-art-8911ddb8ac27438b94f2c76f771cc7d0
institution Kabale University
issn 1422-8599
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Molbank
spelling doaj-art-8911ddb8ac27438b94f2c76f771cc7d02025-08-20T03:27:35ZengMDPI AGMolbank1422-85992025-05-0120252M200910.3390/M2009An Alternative Method for Preparing Methyl 2-Ferrocenyl-2-oxo-acetatePascal Pigeon0Hugo Hapel1Institut Parisien de Chimie Moléculaire (IPCM), CNRS, Sorbonne Université, 4 Place Jussieu, F-75005 Paris, FranceInstitut Parisien de Chimie Moléculaire (IPCM), CNRS, Sorbonne Université, 4 Place Jussieu, F-75005 Paris, FranceBecause of the continuous interest in ferrocene chemistry, there is a sustained demand for various ferrocenic building blocks, especially small molecules with useful chemical functional groups, sometimes containing multiple groups. Our interest in ferrocene ketoesters (ω-ferrocenyl-ω-ketoesters) was motivated by the synthesis of esters and subsequently alcohols of ferrociphenols. However, from a bibliographic survey, only one publication dated from 1964 reports the two-step synthesis (six-step synthesis from ferrocene) of methyl 2-ferrocenyl-2-oxoacetate, the simplest member of this family of compounds, with no further developments since. We hypothesized that a simpler method might exist, such as the Friedel–Crafts method. By focusing on our experiments to use aluminum trichloride as the catalyst, we managed to achieve the synthesis of FcCOCOOMe in a single step, albeit with a very low yield, regardless of reaction time, temperature, amount of aluminum chloride and reagents concentration. Nevertheless, considering the time saved, simplicity, and the use of less hazardous and less expensive reagents, this method offers certain advantages for synthesizing this building block.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-8599/2025/2/M2009ferroceneorganometallic compoundsFriedel–Crafts reactionω-ferrocenyl-ω-ketoesters
spellingShingle Pascal Pigeon
Hugo Hapel
An Alternative Method for Preparing Methyl 2-Ferrocenyl-2-oxo-acetate
Molbank
ferrocene
organometallic compounds
Friedel–Crafts reaction
ω-ferrocenyl-ω-ketoesters
title An Alternative Method for Preparing Methyl 2-Ferrocenyl-2-oxo-acetate
title_full An Alternative Method for Preparing Methyl 2-Ferrocenyl-2-oxo-acetate
title_fullStr An Alternative Method for Preparing Methyl 2-Ferrocenyl-2-oxo-acetate
title_full_unstemmed An Alternative Method for Preparing Methyl 2-Ferrocenyl-2-oxo-acetate
title_short An Alternative Method for Preparing Methyl 2-Ferrocenyl-2-oxo-acetate
title_sort alternative method for preparing methyl 2 ferrocenyl 2 oxo acetate
topic ferrocene
organometallic compounds
Friedel–Crafts reaction
ω-ferrocenyl-ω-ketoesters
url https://www.mdpi.com/1422-8599/2025/2/M2009
work_keys_str_mv AT pascalpigeon analternativemethodforpreparingmethyl2ferrocenyl2oxoacetate
AT hugohapel analternativemethodforpreparingmethyl2ferrocenyl2oxoacetate
AT pascalpigeon alternativemethodforpreparingmethyl2ferrocenyl2oxoacetate
AT hugohapel alternativemethodforpreparingmethyl2ferrocenyl2oxoacetate