2,3,4,7-tetrahydro-1H-inden-2-ol:: synthesis, molecular structure and coordination chemistry

2,3,4,7-Tetrahydro-1H-inden-2-ol (1) has been synthesised by Birch reduction of indan-2-ol. A single-crystal X-ray structure analysis of 1 shows the compound to exist as hydrogen-bonded polymers along the c-axis due to the presence of a series of hydrogen-bonds between hydroxo functions. The ferrocene ester derivatives, ferrocene carboxylic acid 2,3,4,7-tetrahydro-1H-inden-2-yl ester (2) and ferrocene carboxylic acid indan-2-yl ester (3) have been prepared by peptidic coupling of ferrocene carboxylic acid with 1 and with indan-2-ol, respectively. The single-crystal X-ray structure analyses of 2 and 3 reveal in both cases the cyclopentadienyl rings to adopt an eclipsed conformation with the indenyl substituent being rotated out of the Cp ester plane by almost 90degrees, allowing no efficient interaction between the pi-system of the Cp ring and the indene moiety. The dienyl derivative 2 reacts with RuCl3 . nH(2)O in refluxing ethanol to afford [Ru(arene)Cl-2](2) (4) (arene = ferrocene carboxylic acid indan-2-yl ester) as a mixture of isomers. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.