Nanoscale Atoms in Solid-State Chemistry

We describe a solid-state material formed from binary assembly of atomically precise molecular clusters. [Co₆Se₈(PEt₃)₆][C₆₀]₂ and [Cr₆Te₈(PEt₃)₆][C₆₀]₂ assembled into a superatomic relative of the cadmium iodide (CdI₂) structure type. These solid-state materials showed activated electronic transport with activation energies of 100 to 150 millielectron volts. The more reducing cluster Ni₉Te₆(PEt₃)₈ transferred more charge to the fullerene and formed a rock-salt-related structure. In this material, the constituent clusters are able to interact electronically to produce a magnetically ordered phase at low temperature, akin to atoms in a solid-state compound.