Essentially molecular supported catalysts were synthesized by using organometallic complexes as precursors, such as Rh(CO)2(acac), Rh(C2H4)2(acac), Ir(CO)2(acac), and Ir(C2H4)2(acac) (where acac is acetylacetonate) and HY zeolite as a support. A goal was to obtain highly uniform solid catalysts with well-defined structures. Characterization by X-ray absorption (XAS) and infrared (IR) spectroscopies confirmed the anchoring of the metal to the support with a high degree of uniformity. IR and 29Si and 27Al nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra characterize the presence of amorphous regions in the zeolite, and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) identifies these amorphous regions, where iridium is more susceptible to aggregation than in the crystalline regions. Treatment of Ir(CO)2/HY zeolite with C2H4 and H2 at room temperature led to a family of species which includes Ir(CO)2, Ir(CO)(C2H4), Ir(CO)(C2H4)2, Ir(CO)(C2H5) and, tentatively, Ir(CO)(H). The identification of the species is based on XAS and IR spectra (including spectra of samples made with isotopically labeled ligands, 13CO and D2O) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The catalytic performance of isostructural rhodium and iridium species incorporating CO as a ligand was measured for the ethylene conversion; the CO not only acts as an inhibitor but it also as a probe molecule providing information about the electronic properties of the metal and of the species present during reaction. When isostructural rhodium and iridium diethylene species are bonded near each other on HY zeolite, the iridium complexes alter the selectivity of rhodium by spilling over hydrogen that hinders the interaction between ethylene and the acidic sites of the zeolite that act in concert with the rhodium, causing it to favor ethylene hydrogenation over dimerization. All these results show how structurally simple solid catalysts can be used to facilitate fundamental understanding of catalysts and their performance.