Design, synthesis and redox properties of two ferrocene-containing iron chelators

Two ferrocene-containing iron(III) chelators were synthesized from desferrioxamine B and kojic acid and their electronic absorption and electrochemical properties were studied in acetonitrile in the absence and presence of ferric ions. The results show a complex behavior arising from the occurrence of competing redox and complexation processes. Such systems are a first step toward the generation of chemosensors for the electrochemical detection of iron(III) in a solution.