[1] Iron tetracarbonyl dihydride was first produced by Hieber and Leutert from iron pentacarbonyl, which is first converted to HFe(CO)−4:[2][3] Since the compound is thermally labile and sensitive to light, ideal conditions in 1930's Munich called for winter nights.

[1][4] In iron tetracarbonyl hydride the Fe(CO)4 group has C2v molecular symmetry with a geometry intermediate between octahedral and tetrahedral.

Viewed as a tetrahedral Fe(CO)4 complex, the hydrides occupy adjacent faces of the tetrahedron.

[10][11] The monoanion is an intermediate in the homogeneous iron-carbonyl-catalyzed water-gas shift reaction (WGSR).

The slow step in the WGSR is the proton transfer from water to the iron hydride anion.