Abstract
The synthesis of two new donor-acceptor ferrocenyl derivatives with Meldrum's acid based nonplanar acceptor substituents is presented. Both compounds are obtained in high yields in a simple reaction protocol under mild conditions using either 1-acetyl- or 1,1'-diacetylferrocene and Meldrum's acid. Both products have been characterized spectroscopically, by single-crystal X-ray structure analysis, by electrochemical and UV/vis/IR spectroelectrochemical measurements, and by (TD)-DFT calculations. The spectroelectrochernical measurements disclose that the 2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxane-4,6-dione moiety is a moderately strong electron acceptor.