Trinuclear Clusters from HCo(CO)4 Solutions

HCo3(CO)9 (3) is the first isolable hydrido‐carbonyl cluster, which can be obtained using HCo(CO)4 (1) as starting compound. The trinuclear, electronically unsaturated cluster is formed by thermal decomposition of (1) together with the expected Co2(CO)8 (2). Lower nuclear clusters such as (3) are discussed as catalysts, e.g. in homogeneous hydroformylation or CO reduction. equation image