Acetylferrocene is the organoiron compound with the formula (C5H5)Fe(C5H4COCH3).
It consists of ferrocene substituted by an acetyl group on one of the cyclopentadienyl rings.
It is an orange, air-stable solid that is soluble in organic solvents.
Acetylferrocene is prepared by Friedel-Crafts acylation of ferrocene, usually with acetic anhydride (Ac2O): The experiment is often conducted in the instructional laboratory to illustrate acylation as well as chromatographic separations.
[3][4] Acetylferrocene can be converted to many derivatives, e.g., reduction to the chiral alcohol (C5H5)Fe(C5H4CH(OH)Me) and precursor to vinylferrocene.