Hexaphosphine: A Multifaceted Ligand for Transition Metal Coordination

We report the synthesis and characterization of the first ferrocenyl polyphosphane incorporating six phosphorus donor atoms. In this unique ligand, the cyclopentadienyl rings of the ferrocenyl backbone adopt a staggered position, which leads to a piano-stool arrangement for each of the two sets of three P atoms facing the same direction. As a consequence of its remarkable flexibility, this hexaphosphane displays versatile coordination behaviour towards metals, leading to unexpected structures of palladium and platinum bimetallic complexes. Analogous molybdenum and rhodium complexes are more classical.