[Fe]-hydrogenase and models that contain iron-acyl ligation.

[Fe]-hydrogenase is a newly characterized type of hydrogenase. This enzyme heterolytically splits hydrogen in the presence of a natural substrate. The active site of the enzyme contains a mono-iron complex with intriguing iron-acyl ligation. Several groups have recently developed iron-acyl complexes as synthetic models of [Fe]-hydrogenase. This Focus Review summarizes the studies of this enzyme and its model compounds, with an emphasis on our own research in this area.