Missing Link in the Growth of Lead-Based Zintl Clusters: Isolation of the Dimeric Plumbaspherene [Cu₄Pb₂₂]⁴.

ABSTRACT: We report here the structure of an endohedral plumbaspherene, [Cu₄Pb₂₂]^4-, the gold analogue of which was previously postulated to be a "missing link" in the growth of larger clusters containing three and four icosahedral subunits. The cluster contains two [Cu₂Pb₁₁]^2- subunits linked through a Cu₂Pb₄ trigonal antiprism. Density functional theory reveals that the striking ability of mixed Pb/coinage metal Zintl clusters to oligomerize and, in the case of Au, to act as a site of nucleation for additional metal atoms, is a direct consequence of their nd¹⁰(n + 1)s⁰ configuration, which generates both a low-lying (n + 1)s-based LUMO and also a high-lying Pb-centered

SUBMITTER: Morgan HWT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9100666 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature