A HIGHLY EFFICIENT ROUTE TO FERROCENE DERIVATIVES CONTAINING 4-CARBON HETEROANNULAR BRIDGES VIA A NOVEL CYCLIZATION REACTION

Synthesis of 1, 1'-bis((trimethylsilyl)ethynyl)-ferrocene and conversion of this compound to a ferrocene derivative containing a 1-methoxy-1,3-butadienyl heteroannular bridging unit via a novel, catalytic, and high-yielding cyclization reaction are described. Simple synthetic transformations of this reactive bridging unit readily yield ferrocene derivatives containing four-carbon heteroannular bridges.