Ferrocenium Hexafluorophosphate

• CAS: 11077-24-0
• Catalog Number: ACM11077240
• Category: Promotional Products
• Molecular Weight: 331
• Molecular Formula: C10H10F6FeP
• Synonyms: cyclopentane;iron;hexafluorophosphate
• Canonical SMILES: C1=C[CH]C=C1.C1=C[CH]C=C1.F[P-](F)(F)(F)(F)F.[Fe]
• InChI: InChI=1S/2C5H5.F6P.Fe/c2*1-2-4-5-3-1;1-7(2,3,4,5)6;/h2*1-5H;/q;-1
• InChI Key: PCJFEGIXYOQEQD-UHFFFAOYSA-N
• Appearance: solid
• Storage: room temperature
• Complexity: 101
• Covalently-Bonded Unit Count: 4
• Defined Atom Stereocenter Count: 0
• Exact Mass: 330.977367
• Heavy Atom Count: 18
• Hydrogen Bond Acceptor Count: 7
• Hydrogen Bond Donor Count: 0
• Monoisotopic Mass: 330.977367
• Rotatable Bond Count: 0
• Topological Polar Surface Area: 0 Ų

Case Study

Ferrocenium Hexafluorophosphate-Induced Electropolymerization for Nanofibrillar Pani-PVS Film Development in Biosensor Fabrication

Ndangili P. M, et al. Electrochimica Acta, 2010, 55(14), 4267-4273.

Ferrocenium hexafluorophosphate (FcPF₆) was employed as a key oxidizing agent to direct the nanofibrillar electropolymerization of polyaniline-polyvinyl sulfonate (Pani-PVS) films for biosensor applications. Electropolymerization was conducted on both glassy carbon electrodes (GCE) and screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPCE) in a 1 M HCl acidic medium, using a working solution containing 0.05 M FcPF₆, 0.2 M aniline, and polyvinyl sulfonate (PVS). The solution was degassed with argon for 8 minutes, and potential cycling was performed from -100 mV to +1000 mV at 100 mV s⁻¹ for 20 cycles. FcPF₆ played a critical role in shifting the morphology of the film from micron-sized cauliflower clusters to uniformly distributed 100 nm nanofibrils, as confirmed by SEM imaging.
The resulting Pani-PVS films provided a biocompatible matrix for horseradish peroxidase (HRP) immobilization via glutaraldehyde crosslinking in the presence of bovine serum albumin (BSA). The modified electrode demonstrated fast amperometric response (within 5 s) to hydrogen peroxide with a detection limit of 30 µM and linearity up to 2 mM. This underscores FcPF₆'s pivotal role in engineering conductive nanostructures for high-performance biosensors.

Ferrocenium Hexafluorophosphate-Catalyzed Etherification of Propargylic Alcohols via Single Electron Transfer Pathways

Queensen M. J, et al. Journal of Molecular Catalysis A: Chemical, 2015, 407, 221-229.

Ferrocenium hexafluorophosphate ([FeCp₂]PF₆) has emerged as an efficient, cost-effective single-electron oxidant for the mild etherification of propargylic alcohols. In a representative protocol, tertiary propargylic alcohols (both mixed aromatic-aliphatic and purely aromatic) were reacted with equimolar quantities of primary or secondary alcohols in dichloromethane (CH₂Cl₂) at 40 °C using 3 mol% [FeCp₂]PF₆. The reaction proceeds without the need for additional reagents or additives and completes within 5 hours to 3 days depending on substrate reactivity.
Product isolation yielded propargylic ethers in 90-20% yields, with mixed aromatic-aliphatic alcohols affording higher conversions. In contrast, purely aromatic substrates underwent partial Meyer-Schuster rearrangement, limiting yield due to competitive aldehyde formation. Time-course monitoring confirmed this side reaction pathway.