Iranian Scientific Association of Energetic Materials

In this study a novel method has been introduced for the synthesis of 4-hydroxylbutylferrocene by the reaction of lithiated ferrocene with THF in the presence of chlorotrimethylsilane under argon atmosphere. Essential optimization on the reaction solvent, temperature and molar ratio of reactants was conducted and finally 4-hydroxybutylferrocene was obtained in the yield of 78% using this method. Reaction of this compound with phosphoros trichloride result in the formation of 4-chlorobutylferrocene as the basic fundamental precursor for the synthesis of butacene. In the following, Grignard reagents obtained from the reaction between Mg turning and 4-chlorobutylferrocene, react with chlorodimethylsilane to form [4-(dimethylsilyl)butyl]ferrocene, which this compound undergoes a hydrosilylation reaction with hydroxyl terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) in the presence of hexachloroplatinic acid as the catalyst and butacene was synthesized as burning rate accelerator catalyst containing 8% of iron. FT-IR, ¹H and ¹³C NMR analysis supported the predicted structure of the product. Also, iron percentage of the synthesized butacene was determined using ¹H NMR spectrum..