Stable copper sandwich complexes complete the 3d transition-metal metallocene series

Structures

Source: © 2026 American Chemical Society

75 years after the discovery of ferrocene, stable metallocenes have now been made with all of the 3d transition metals

Stable sandwich complexes in which metal atoms are coordinated between two cyclopentadienyl ligands have now been made with all of the metals in the top row of the periodic table’s d-block, after US researchers isolated a copper metallocene . The compound comprises a copper atom sandwiched between two ligands that feature bulky substituents.