Crystal structures of two new six-coordinate iron(III) complexes with 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphane) ligands

Structural characterization of the ionic complexes [FeCl2(C26H22P2)2][FeCl4]·0.59CH2Cl2 or [(dppen)2FeCl2][FeCl4]·0.59CH2Cl2 (dppen = cis-1,2-bis(diphenylphosphane)ethylene, P2C26H22) and [FeCl2(C30H24P2)2][FeCl4]·CH2Cl2 or [(dpbz)2FeCl2][FeCl4]·CH2Cl2 (dpbz = 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphane)benzene, P2C30H24) demonstrates trans coordination of two bidentate phosphane ligands (bisphosphanes) to a single iron(III) center, resulting in six-coordinate cationic complexes that are balanced in charge by tetrachloridoferrate(III) monoanions. The trans bisphosphane coordination is consistent will all previously reported molecular structures of six coordinate iron(III) complex cations with a (PP)2X2 (X = halido) donor set. The complex with dppen crystallizes in the centrosymmetric space group C2/c as a partial-occupancy [0.592 (4)] dichloromethane solvate, while the dpbz-ligated complex crystallizes in the triclinic space group P1 as a full dichloromethane monosolvate. Furthermore, the crystal studied of [(dpbz)2FeCl2][FeCl4]·CH2Cl2 was an inversion twin, whose component mass ratio refined to 0.76 (3):0.24 (3). Beyond a few very weak C—H...Cl and C—H...π interactions, there are no significant supramolecular features in either structure