Salts of the ruthenocenylmethylium cation, 1
+, can be synthesized from the reaction of
ruthenocenylmethanol with either Brønsted or Lewis acids. The X-ray crystal structures of
the tetrakis{3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl}borate and trifluoromethanesulfonate salts of
1
+
reveal that the methylium carbon is bound to the ruthenium with Ru−C bond lengths in
the range 2.251(9)−2.40(1) Å and confirm the description of the cation structure as
η
5-cyclopentadienyl-η
6-fulvene-ruthenium(II). The UV−vis spectrum of 1
+
shows a d−d
transition at an energy similar to those of ruthenocene and the η
5-cyclopentadienyl-η
6-benzeneruthenium(II) cation, but with increased absorptivity. Cyclic voltammetry indicates
that 1
+
is reduced at considerably less negative potential than its isomer, the η
5-cyclopentadienyl-η
6-benzene-ruthenium(II) cation. Chemical reduction with sodium amalgam
in tetrahydrofuran leads to the formation of methylruthenocene, 1,2-bis(ruthenocenyl)ethane,
and bis(ruthenocenylmethyl)ether. Reaction of 1
+
with triphenylphosphine affords the
(ruthenocenylmethyl)triphenylphosphonium cation; the crystal structure of the dichloromethane solvate of its tetrafluoroborate salt has been determined. Density functional
calculations closely reproduce the crystallographically determined geometry of 1
+
and allow
rationalization of some characteristics of its structure, spectroscopy, and reactivity. The
calculations suggest that the ferrocenylmethylium cation, 3
+, has a geometry similar to 1
+
with similar orbital structure, albeit with considerably more d-character to the occupied
frontier orbitals.