Binding and Electrochemical Recognition of Barbiturate and Urea Derivatives by a Regioisomeric Series of Hydrogen-Bonding Ferrocene Receptors

A series of ferrocene-containing amidopyridyl receptors, in two regioisomeric forms (1,1‘ and 1,3), have been shown to bind cyclic organic molecules in chloroform through complementary hydrogen-bonding interactions. Complexation was monitored by NMR spectroscopy and by cyclic voltammetry. The magnitude of the host−guest binding strength and the redox response to complexation depend on both the type and the relative position of the amidopyridyl groups on the cyclopentadienyl rings of the ferrocene.