Solvent effect on the charge-transfer transition of a novel amphiphilic pentacyano(4-octadecylaminopyridine)ferrate(III) complex

Abstract

Pentacyano(4-octadecylaminopyridine)ferrate(III) amphiphilic complex is made soluble in a large range of solvents by a suitable choice of counter cations. The ligand-to-metal charge-transfer transition which takes place in the hydrophilic part is very sensitive to the nature of the solvent. The solvatochromic behaviour of this organometallic compound is described and shown to correlate with the Gutmann acceptor number (AN). Both the solubility and solvatochromic properties clearly indicate the importance of hydrogen bonding in the solute–solvent interactions, a result that is further confirmed by a preferential solvation of the chromophore by methanol molecules in methanol–chloroform mixtures.