Nickelocene

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of organometallic compound featuring two cyclopentadienyl rings bound to a central nickel atom usually forming a stable sandwich-like structure
2. A chemical species composed of a nickel atom sandwiched between two aromatic five-carbon ring ligands, exhibiting properties characteristic of metallocenes and used in organometallic chemistry
3. A metal-organic complex where a nickel ion is coordinated by two cyclopentadienyl anions, commonly studied for its bonding properties and applications in catalysis and materials science

Etymology: Nickelocene is a chemical coinage rather than an old word, and its name was built on purpose by chemists in the 1950s. The metal-sandwich compound was first prepared in 1951 by Ernst Otto Fischer's group in Munich, and it is one of the early members of a family of compounds whose names were modelled on "ferrocene," the iron complex discovered in 1951 whose structure surprised chemists. The "-ocene" ending was chosen to echo that name, with "cyclopentadienyl" (abbreviated Cp) rings sandwiching the metal atom. The word is therefore a blend of the element name "nickel," from German "Kupfernickel," a miners' term for a copper-coloured ore, and the "-ocene" suffix taken from ferrocene. The "-ocene" element is a clipped form of "cyclopentadienyl," which itself combines "cyclo-," "penta-" (five) and the chemical suffix "-yl" for a radical group, describing the five-membered carbon ring. Fischer and his colleagues named the family by analogy rather than by any older vocabulary, so the word's history is short and entirely modern.

Synonyms: Niocene