Syntheses of Carbon Nanomaterials by Ferrocene

Ferrocene, an organometallic chemical compound consisting of two cyclopentadienyl rings bound on opposite sides of a central iron atom, has been widely used to synthesize carbon nanomaterials with different shapes. It can not only serve as a catalyst but also act as a carbon or iron source because it contains both a transition metal and two hydrocarbon fragments. In this review, we summarize the information generated in the literature on carbon nanomaterials with different shapes made by ferrocene. We have classified the review content into: (i) syntheses of carbon nanotubes by ferrocene; (ii) syntheses of carbon nanospheres by ferrocene; (iii) syntheses of iron/carbon composites by ferrocene; and (iv) syntheses of other shaped carbon nanostructures by ferrocene.