Phosphido bridged iron carbonyl hydrides: synthesis and X-ray structure of (µ-H)2Fe3(CO)8(µ-PPh2)2

Reaction of the carbonyl anion Fe4(CO)132– with strong acid in the presence of diphenylphosphine affords the trinuclear phosphido bridged cluster (µ-H)2Fe3(CO)8(µ-PPh2)2(1) which has been fully characterized by X-ray diffraction; ready intramolecular elimination of benzene from (1) at room temperature in the presence of CO yields the phosphinidene complex Fe3(CO)9(µ3-PPh)2(2).