A new reductant in gold cluster chemistry gives a superatomic gold gallium cluster.

Abstract

The low valent gallium(i) compound GaCp was primarily used in gold cluster chemistry to synthesize the superatomic cluster [(PPh3)8Au9GaCl2]2+, complementing the borane-dominated set of reducing agents in gold chemistry, opening a whole new field for further research. Using density functional theory calculations, the cluster can be described by the jellium model as an 8-electron superatom cluster.