Synthesis and Characterization of Neutral, Homo and Heteronuclear Clusters with Unsubstituted Germanium or Tin Atoms

✍ Scribed by Anne F. Richards; Håkon Hope; Philip P. Power

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2003
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 119 KB
• Volume: 115
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0044-8249
• DOI: 10.1002/ange.200351907

✦ Synopsis

Stable polyhedral clusters of the formula M n R m (n > m; M = Si-Pb (tetrel; a tetrel is a group 14 element); R = organo or related group) that contain several tetrels unsubstituted by organic or related groups are rare. [1][2][3][4] The synthesis of such species is of interest as it could allow the crystallization of well-defined larger tetrel clusters of nanometer dimensionality that may have unusual electronic properties. Generally speaking, most currently known tetrel clusters can be categorized as either Zintl anions, [5] for example M 5 2À or M 9 nÀ (M = Ge, Sn or Pb; n = 2, 3 or 4), or as neutral clusters of the formula M n R n (M = Si-Pb, n = 4, 6, 8 or 10) [6] where each tetrel carries one substituent. In contrast, the substituent poor polyhedral tetrel clusters are represented only by the compounds Sn 8 {Si(SiMe 3 ) 3 } 6 , [2] Sn 8 {C 6 H 3 -2,6-Mes 2 } 4 [3] and the germanium species Ge 8 {N(SiMe 3 ) 2 } 6 [4] that was recently reported by Schnepf and co-workers. The tin compounds [