Acidic iridium hydrides: Implications for aerobic and Oppenauer oxidation of alcohols

[Cp*Ir(H)(bpym)](+) and [Cp*Ir(H)(bpy)](+) are the first examples of iridium based catalysts for the aerobic oxidation of alcohols; the catalytic cycle proceeds via acidic hydrides. Deprotonation of the hydride leads to a highly oxygen sensitive Ir-I species that regenerate the Ir-III complexes upon oxidation with dioxygen.