Novel ceramic and organometallic depolymerization products from poly(ferrocenylsilanes)via pyrolysis

When heated at 500 °C under nitrogen the poly(ferrocenylsilanes)[Fe(η-C5H4)2(SiR2)]n(1; R = Me, or 2; R = Ph) yield magnetic iron silicon carbide ceramics together with a orange–yellow sublimate which, in the case of 1, was shown to contain the unusual unsymmetrical dimer [Fe(η-C5H4)2(µ-SiMe2)2(η-C5H3)Fe(η-C5H5)]3 by single crystal X-ray diffraction.