Novel ferrocenylphosphino sulfonates: Synthesis, crystal structure and preliminary application as ligands in aqueous catalysis

The synthesis and characterization of three novel ferrocenylphosphino sulfonates, namely [(η5-C5H3PR2(SO3i-Pr))Fe(η5-C5H5)] (R = Ph, p-Tol, Cy), is presented along with their solid-state X-ray crystal structures. Preliminary studies on the utility of these compounds as auxiliary ligands in aqueous catalysis, in particular for the ruthenium-catalyzed ortho-arylation of 2-phenylpyridine, are also discussed.