The crystal structure of the supposed tetraphenylferrate(0) salt “[Li(Et2O)]4[FePh4]” reported by Shilov et al. has been reinterpreted, and the unprecedented “flat rectangular” coordination geometry is proposed to be an artifact of a false solution in an incorrect space group. In the correct space group, the phenyl groups actually describe a regular square-planar geometry with cis C−Fe−C angles that are exactly 90°. In addition, the formulation of the compound as a derivative of zerovalent iron is almost certainly incorrect:  we propose that the compound actually is an iron(II) dihydride of stoichiometry [Li(Et2O)]4[trans-FeH2Ph4].

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The addition of 1-(Bu3Sn)C9H7 to a dichloromethane suspension of TaCl5 results in the red crystalline species [(η5-C9H7)2TaCl2][TaCl6]. This unique compound represents a rare example of a Ta(V) indenylmetal halide. The isolation of a diindenyl salt complex is surprising, given that all other similar cyclopentadienyl-based reactions result in molecular species of the stoichiometry (C5R5)TaX4 (R = H, alkyl; X = halide).

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