A review on molecular electrochemistry of metallocene dichloride and dimethyl complexes of group 4 metals: Redox properties and relation with optical ligand-to-metal charge transfer transitions

Emphasis is given to redox, photophysical, and photochemical properties of homologous bent metallocenes of group 4 transition metals. Comparative analysis of a variety of electron-transfer induced transformations and ligand-to-metal charge-transfer excited states is performed for bent metallocene complexes upon systematic variation of the identity of the metal ion (Ti, Zr or Hf), ancillary pi- and monodentate sigma- (Cl, Me) ligands. For such organometallic pi -complexes, linear correlations exist between energies of optical and redox HOMO-to-LUMO electron transitions. It is suggested that combination of spectroscopic and electrochemical techniques provides important diagnostics to determine "ionisation potential" and "electron affinity" in solution (relative energies of frontier molecular orbitals obtained as redox potentials) and the energy gap in metallocene complexes. Some of earlier instructive cases of direct relationship between optical transition energies and differences in redox potentials revealed for inorganic and coordination compounds are discussed.