Reaction of [Rh2(µ-OH)3(η5-C5Me5)2]JCIH2O in water with hydrogen (90 °C, 1 atm) gives the green tetranuclear dication [Rh4H4(C5Me5)4]2+, 2Y-(Y-=CI-, PF6, or BF4-; 2Y-=PtCl42-). The BF4- salt was characterized by X-ray crystallography (tetragonal unit cell with a=11.763 (5) υ and c=15.522 (6) υ, space group 14), the structure was solved by Patterson and Fourier techniques and gave a final R of 0.039. The dication contains four rhodium atoms, each bearing a η5-C5Mcs ligand, arranged in a distorted tetrahedral manner (D2d symmetry) with two short (2.655 (1) υ) and four long (2.829 (1) υ) Rh-Rh bonds. The presence of four hydride ligands in the cation has been shown by NMR spectroscopy; they do not take part in any major fluxional process. It is proposed that the four hydrides bridge the four long Rh-Rh bonds. © 1979, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.