Three kinds of iron carbonyl-sulfur complexes such as (Fe(CO)_3S)_2, (CH_3SFe(CO)_3)_2 and (t-BuSFe(CO)_3)_2 were prepared in order to obtain dispersed active iron catalyst for coal liquefaction. Liquefaction of Yallourn coal in 1-methylnaphthalene with iron complexes was carried out at 693K, 5.0MPa for 60min. All these iron carbonyl-sulfur complexes afforded higher conversions and oil yields as compared to the other iron-sulfur catalyst.
