Extension and Fusion of Cyclic Polyantimony Units.

The synthesis and characterization of a series of polyantimony anionic clusters are reported. The products [(NbCp)Sb], [MSb] (M = Ru/Fe), and [MSb] (M = Ru/Fe) were isolated as either K(18-crown-6) or K([2.2.

An all-metal fullerene: [K@AuSb].

The C fullerene molecule has attracted tremendous interest for its distinctive nearly spherical structure. By contrast, all-metal counterparts have been elusive: Fullerene-like clusters composed of noncarbon elements typically suffer from instability, resulting in more compact geometries that require multiple embedded atoms or external ligands for stabilization. In this work, we present the synthesis of an all-metal fullerene cluster, [K@AuSb], using a wet-chemistry method.

Ternary aromatic and anti-aromatic clusters derived from the hypho species [SnSb].

Heterometallic clusters have attracted broad interests in the synthetic chemistry due to their various coordination modes and potential applications in heterogeneous catalysis. Here we report the synthesis, experimental, and theoretical characterizations of four ternary clusters ([M(CO)SnSb] (M = Cr, Mo), and [(MSnSb)], (M = Cu, Ag)) in the process of capturing the hypho- [SnSb] in ethylenediamine (en) solution. We show that the coordination of the binary anion to transition-metal ions or fragments provides additional stabilization due to the formation of locally σ-aromatic units, producing a spherical aromatic shielding region in the cages.