Ferrocene

<p>Ferrocene is an <a href="/facts/Organometallic_chemistry/bhqFz2P0">organometallic compound</a> with the formula Fe(C5H5)2. The molecule is a <a href="/facts/Cyclopentadienyl_complex/rezSmzLI">complex</a> consisting of two <a href="/facts/Cyclopentadienyl_anion/11slGTQo">cyclopentadienyl</a> rings sandwiching a central <a href="/facts/Iron/QK1JYy8E">iron</a> atom. It is an orange solid with a camphor-like odor that <a href="/facts/Sublimation_(phase_transition)/KDoKokMn">sublimes</a> above room temperature, and is soluble in most organic solvents. It is remarkable for its stability: it is unaffected by air, water, strong bases, and can be heated to 400 °C without decomposition. In oxidizing conditions it can reversibly react with strong acids to form the ferrocenium <a href="/facts/Cation/wrbwhF3z">cation</a> Fe(C5H5)+2. Ferrocene and the ferrocenium cation are sometimes abbreviated as Fc and Fc+ respectively.
</p><p>The first reported synthesis of ferrocene was in 1951. Its unusual stability puzzled chemists, and required the development of new theory to explain its formation and bonding. The discovery of ferrocene and its many <a href="/facts/Structural_analog/3aysWSVG">analogues</a>, known as <a href="/facts/Metallocene/AecA5Qrk">metallocenes</a>, sparked excitement and led to a rapid growth in the discipline of <a href="/facts/Organometallic_chemistry/bhqFz2P0">organometallic chemistry</a>. <a href="/facts/Geoffrey_Wilkinson/BQ3GXMga">Geoffrey Wilkinson</a> and <a href="/facts/Ernst_Otto_Fischer/v8zCR6Ke">Ernst Otto Fischer</a>, both of whom worked on elucidating the structure of ferrocene, later shared the 1973 <a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Chemistry/8Nb8Ajjy">Nobel Prize in Chemistry</a> for their work on organometallic sandwich compounds. Ferrocene itself has no large-scale applications, but has found more niche uses in catalysis, as a fuel additive, and as a tool in undergraduate education.
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Ferrocene open-in-new

Ferrocene