Ferrocene (iron bis(cyclopentadienyl) Fe(h5-C5H5)2 is orange diamagnetic air-stable solid, is volatile (sublimable), has melting point 173 °C. Ferrocene dissolves in various organic solvents, dissociation energy Fe-CCp 260 kJ mol-1.
Ferrocene, (h5-C5H5)2Fe, has been well studied as Fe MOCVD precursor (at growth temperatures 400 – 500 °C).
Metallic iron Fe films were grown using ferrocene as precursor by conventional CVD reactor on steel and Ni substrates. with FeCp2 precursor partial pressure 4 x 10-5 Torr, 500-600 °C, deposition rate 0.3 nm/min. The obtained Fe film properties were strongly adherent, having no major impurities, however, no C and O analysis was carried out.
Cp2Fe was applied as Fe precursor for the growth of thin FeS films on Pyrex substrate at substrate temperature 410 °C using and propylene sulfide (C3H6S) as the sulfur source, with N2 as carrier gas. The molar ratio of reactants of 1∶3 or higher was used; a growth rate of ~2.5 µm/h was achieved [983]
Ferrocene FeCp2 (combined with propylene C3H8 as carbon precursor) was tested as Fe precursor for the preparation of encapsulated iron nanoparticles in uniform carbon nanotubes of MOCVD under H2 flow, using an anodic Al2O3 film as a template. The deposited iron/carbon nanotube composites were separated from anodic oxide film by alkali treatment.
The grown carbon nanotubes contained crystalline nanoparticles of Fe3O4 and their number and size were controlled by changing the MOCVD conditions. No iron oxide particles were found on the outer surface of the nanotubes.[i]
[i]B. K. Pradhan, T. Toba, Takashi Kyotani*, Akira Tomita, Chem. Mater., 1998, 10 (9), pp 2510–2515, https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/cm980266t, Inclusion of Crystalline Iron Oxide Nanoparticles in Uniform Carbon Nanotubes Prepared by a Template Carbonization Method
Ferrocene FeCp2 combined with O2 as oxidant, was applied as precursor for the the deposition of thin Fe2O3 films on Si(100) by MOCVD at 55mbar pressure and temperatures between 673 – 1023K (400-750°C).
The deposited Fe2O3 films were characterized by XRD, AES, EDX, and SEM. The dependence of Fe2O3 growth rate on temperature was studied; the change from the kinetically controlled to the transport controlled regime occurred near 750K (477°C); at similar
temperatures as well a phase change of the grown Fe2O3 was observed. The layers grown at temperatures > 823K (>550°C) had α-Fe 2 O 3 structure, whereas at lower temperature a mixture of α-Fe 2 O 3
and other oxide phases γ-Fe 2 O 3 , and/or β-Fe 2 O 3, was observed. [[i]]
[i] Ch. Pflitsch, D. Viefhaus, U. Bergmann, V. Kravets, H. Nienhaus, B. Atakan, J. Electrochem. Soc. 2006, Vol.153, Iss. 8,C546-C550, doi: 10.1149/1.2205179, « Growth of Thin Iron Oxide Films on Si ( 100 ) by MOCVD »