Ferrocene

Ferrocene is an organometallic compound with the formula Fe(C₅H₅)₂. At ordinary temperatures it is an orange coloured solid (MP = 175°C).

First prepared in 1951 by P.L. Pauson, it was the first in a family of compounds called metallocenes. The study of these compounds was actively pursued in the 1950s by two independent teams directed by G. Wilkinson (Harvard) and E.O. Fischer (Munich). Their work won them the Nobel prize in 1973.