Recent Progress in the Synthesis and Applications of Some Ferrocene Derivatives and Ferrocene-Based Polymers

In the past decades, a lot of ferrocene (Fc) derivatives have been synthesized and used in many different applications. In addition, Fc-containing polymers have emerged, as an important class of the metal-containing polymers, with unique electrical, magnetic and optical properties and thus much considerable attention has been paid for the application of these polymer systems. These Fc-containing polymers have many different applications such as amperometric biosensors, immunosensors for proteins, DNA and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and carbon monoxide sensors and also they can be used for the fabrication of optical logic gates. This paper reviews the recent progress in the synthetic methodologies, functionalization and the applications of Fc-based polymers as well as some Fc derivatives.