A Silver Sulfide Cluster with Exterior Diphenylphosphinothioito Ligands Exhibiting a Triskele Motif

A novel silver sulfide cluster Ag53S20(Ph2PS)24 has been discovered with cubic shells
of
Ag and S atoms in the interior but with a unique outer shell consisting
of a network of 24 ligands and 20 Ag atoms. The network can be described
as a highly distorted octahedron with approximate chiral symmetry
O, the eight corners being triskeles of the same symmetry in one molecule
(the crystal is racemic: Δ and Λ enantiomers). The outside
of the cluster is formed by the protecting hydrophobic 48 phenyl groups.
The Ag–Ph2PS twisted cube of the Δ enantiomer
corresponds closely to the motif of the Brazuca soccer ball. Thus,
the cluster presents another rare example of a complex molecule that
models a sports ball.