Protonation Studies of the New Iron Carbonyl Cyanide trans -[Fe(CO) 3 (CN) 2 ] 2 - : Implications with Respect to Hydrogenases

The new iron carbonyl cyanide trans-[Fe(CN)(2)(CO)(3)](2)(-), [2](2)(-), forms in high yield via photosubstitution of Fe(CO)(5) with 2 equiv of Et(4)NCN. Protonation of [2](2)(-) generated [HFe(CN)(2)(CO)(3)](-), [2H](-), the first H-Fe-CN-CO species. Further protonation gives dihydrogen. This simple system provides insights into hydrogen evolution by the hydrogenase enzymes, which also feature H-Fe-CN-CO centers.