The UV photolysis of cyclopentadienyl iron dicarbonyl dimer [CpFe(CO)₂]₂ and benzene-1,2-dithiol or 3,6-dichloro-1,2-benzenedithiol afforded dinuclear iron complexes [Cp₂Fe₂(CO)(bdt)(μ-CO)] (1) and [Cp₂Fe₂(CO)(Cl₂-bdt)(μ-CO)] (2) respectively (bdt = benzene-1,2-dithiolato, Cl₂-bdt = dichloro-1,2-benzenedithiolato). Further oxidation of the two complexes resulted in the release of CO and generated [CpFe(bdt)]₂ (3) and [CpFe(Cl₂-bdt)]₂ (4). All four complexes were found to catalyse proton reduction at a similar overpotential and rate when trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) was used as a proton source. Both experimental and computational studies lent support to a mononuclear iron intermediate species carrying the CpFe(bdt) or CpFe(Cl₂-bdt) moiety acting as the catalyst in the proton reduction process.

环戊二烯基铁二羰基二聚体[CpFe（CO）₂ ] ₂和苯1,2-二硫醇或3,6-二氯-1,2-苯二硫醇的紫外光解得到二核铁配合物[Cp ₂ Fe ₂（CO）（bdt） ）（μ-CO）]（1）和[Cp ₂ Fe ₂（CO）（Cl ₂ -bdt）（μ-CO）]（2）分别（bdt =苯-1,2-_二硫代拉托，Cl ₂ -bdt ＝二氯-1，2-苯二硫基。两种复合物的进一步氧化导致CO的释放并生成了[CpFe（bdt）] ₂（3）和[ CpFe （Cl ₂ -bdt）] ₂（4）。当将三氟乙酸（TFA）用作质子源时，发现所有四个复合物均以相似的超电势和速率催化质子还原。实验研究和计算研究均对带有CpFe（bdt）或CpFe （Cl ₂ -bdt）部分作为质子还原过程中的催化剂的单核铁中间体提供了支持。