Three-Dimensional Sandwich Nanocubes Composed of 13-Atom Palladium Core and Hexakis-Carbocycle Shell

Coordination of cyclic unsaturated hydrocarbons to transition metal generally gives bis-ligated sandwich complexes, which are a fundamental class of organometallic compounds. This sandwich structure may be extended to a higher-order three-dimensional one when more than two carbocyclic ligands surround an agglomerate of many transition metal atoms. Here, we report synthesis of three-dimensional sandwich nanocube compounds containing a close-packed transition metal cluster core. Reduction of a [Pd3(μ3-C7H7)2]2+ with tetraarylborate under neat conditions afforded [Pd13(μ4-C7H7)6]2+ containing a cuboctahedral Pd13 core with an octahedral ligand-shell.