Switching from Ru to Fe: picosecond IR spectroscopic investigation of the potential of the (fulvalene)tetracarbonyldiiron frame for molecular solar-thermal storage†
Abstract
A foray into the exploration of Fe analogues of the (fulvalene)tetracarbonyldiruthenium [FvRu2(CO)4] solar-thermal storage system 1 ⇆ 2 is described. It was facilitated by the development of a convenient synthetic access to the parent [FvFe2(CO)4] 3a and the more soluble di(tert-butyl)fulvalene derivatives 3c and d. Laboratory time scale irradiations (>400 nm) fail to induce photoisomerization, an observation that is explained by the results of time-resolved