All-Hydrocarbon-Ligated Superatomic Gold/Aluminum
Clusters

Antsiburov, Ivan; Schütz, Max; Bühler, Raphael; Muhr, Maximilian; Stephan, Johannes; Gemel, Christian; Klein, Wilhelm; Kahlal, Samia; Saillard, Jean-Yves; Fischer, Roland A.

doi:10.1021/acs.inorgchem.3c03790.s001

All-Hydrocarbon-Ligated Superatomic Gold/Aluminum Clusters

journal contribution

posted on 2024-02-09, 17:10 authored by Ivan Antsiburov, Max Schütz, Raphael Bühler, Maximilian Muhr, Johannes Stephan, Christian Gemel, Wilhelm Klein, Samia Kahlal, Jean-Yves Saillard, Roland A. Fischer

Key strategies in cluster synthesis include the use of modulating agents (e.g., coordinating additives). We studied the influence of various phosphines exhibiting different steric and electronic properties on the reduction of the Au(I) precursor to Au(0) clusters. We report a synthesis of the bimetallic clusters [Au₆(AlCp*)₆] = [Au₆Al₆](Cp*)₆ (1) and [HAu₇(AlCp*)₆] = [HAu₇Al₆](Cp*)₆ (2) (Cp* = pentamethylcyclopentadiene) using Au(I) precursors and AlCp*. The cluster [Au₂(AlCp*)₅] = [Au₂Al₅](Cp*)₅ (3) was isolated and identified as an intermediate species in the reactions to 1 and 2. The processes of cluster growth and degradation were investigated by in situ ¹H NMR and LIFDI-MS techniques. The structures of 1 and 2 were established by DFT geometry optimization. These octahedral clusters can both be described as closed-shell 18-electron superatoms.