Nature - An iron-clad structure. Skip to main content. ... Two further X-ray crystallographic studies finally confirmed the sandwich structure of ferrocene, with the iron atom, ...

When X-rays from the synchrotron hit the iron atom in a complex structure of ring-shaped molecules, electrons from the iron atom quantum-tunnel to the tip of an instrument just half a nanometer away.

This breakthrough was achieved by combining ferrocene, a molecular structure that encapsulates an iron atom, with a carbon-based nanohoop. The resulting system facilitates the release of Fe 2 ...