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.