Gold and Nickel Extended Thiophenic-TTF Bisdithiolene Complexes.

Gold and nickel bisdithiolene complexes with methyl and tert-butyl substituted thiophenetetrathiafulavalenedithiolate ligands (α-mtdt and α-tbtdt) were prepared and characterized. These complexes were obtained, under anaerobic conditions, as tetrabutylammonium salts. The diamagnetic gold monoanion (n-Bu4N)[Au(α-mtdt)2] (3) and nickel dianionic species (n-Bu4N)x[Ni(α-mtdt)2] (x = 1,2) (4) were similar to the related non-substituted extended thiophenic-TTF (TTF = tetrathiafulvalene) bisdithiolenes. However the introduction of the large, bulky substituent tert-butyl, led to the formation of a Au (I) dinuclear complex, (n-Bu4N)2[Au2(α-tbtdt)2] (5). The neutral methyl substituted gold and nickel complexes were easily obtained through air or iodine exposure as polycrystalline or amorphous fine powder. [Au(α-mtdt)2] (6) and [Ni(α-mtdt)2] (7) polycrystalline samples display properties of a metallic system with a room temperature electrical conductivity of 0.32 S/cm and ≈4 S/cm and a thermoelectric power of ≈5 µV/K and ≈32 µV/K, respectively. While [Au(α-mtdt)2] (6) presented a Pauli-like magnetic susceptibility typical of conducting systems, in [Ni(α-mtdt)2] (7) large magnetic susceptibilities indicative of high spin states were observed. Both electric transport properties and magnetic properties for gold and nickel [M(α-mtdt)2] are indicative that these compounds are single component molecular conductors.

Polymorphism and Superconductivity in Bilayer Molecular Metals (CNB-EDT-TTF)4I3.

Electrocrystallization from solutions of the dissymmetrical ET derivative cyanobenzene-ethylenedithio-tetrathiafulvalene (CNB-EDT-TTF) in the presence of triiodide I3- affords two different polymorphs (ß″ and κ) with the composition (CNB-EDT-TTF)4I3, both with a bilayer structure of the donors. These polymorphs differ in the packing patterns (ß″- and κ-type) of the donor molecules in each layer, in both cases with bifurcated C-N···H interactions effectively coupling head-to-head donor molecules between layer pairs. Two ß″ polymorphs can be obtained with different degrees of anionic ordering. In one disordered phase, ß″d, with a smaller unit cell, the triiodide anions are disordered over two possible positions in a channel between the donor bilayers, while in the ordered phase, ß″o, the triiodide anions occupy only one of those positions in this channel, leading to the doubling of the unit cell in the layer plane. These results for ß″ phases contrast with the κ polymorph previously reported, for which weaker disorder of the triiodide anions, over two possible orientations with 94 and 6% occupation factors, was observed. While the ß″ polymorphs remains metallic down to 1.5 K with a ρ300K/ρ4K resistivity ratio of 250, the κ polymorph presents a much smaller resistivity ratio in the range of 4-10 and superconductivity with an onset temperature of 3.5 K.

TTFs nonsymmetrically fused with alkylthiophenic moieties.

Two new dithiolene ligand precursors, containing fused TTF and alkyl thiophenic moieties 3,3'-{[2-(5-(tert-butyl)thieno[2,3-d][1,3]dithiol-2-ylidene)-1,3-dithiole-4,5-diyl]bis[sulfanediyl]}dipropanenitrile (α-tbtdt, 1), and 3,3'-{[2-(5-methylthieno[2,3-d][1,3]dithiol-2-ylidene)-1,3-dithiole-4,5-diyl]bis[sulfanediyl]}dipropanenitrile (α-mtdt, 2), were synthesized and characterized. The electrochemical properties of these electronic donors were studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV) in dichloromethane. Both compounds show two quasi-reversible oxidation processes, versus Ag/AgCl, typical of TTF donors at E (1) 1/2 = 279 V and E (2) 1/2 = 680 V for 1 and E (1) 1/2 = 304 V and E (2) 1/2 = 716 V in the case of 2. The single-crystal X-ray structure of 1 and of a charge transfer salt of 2, (α-mtdt)[Au(mnt)2] (3), are reported.

Synthesis and characterization of the cyanobenzene-ethylenedithio-TTF donor.

A dissymmetric TTF-type electron donor, cyanobenzene-ethylenedithio-tetrathiafulvalene (CNB-EDT-TTF), was obtained in high yield, by a cross-coupling reaction with triethyl phosphite between 2-thioxobenzo[d][1,3]dithiole-5-carbonitrile and 5,6-dihydro-[1,3]dithiolo[4,5-b][1,4]dithiin-2-one. This new donor was characterized namely by single crystal X-ray diffraction, cyclic voltammetry, NMR, UV-visible and IR spectroscopy.

Bilayer Molecular Metals Based on Dissymmetrical Electron Donors.

The electrocrystallization from solutions of cyanobenzene-ethylenedithio-tetrathiafulvalene (CNB-EDT-TTF) in the presence of different anions X = ClO4(-), PF6(-), and I3(-), affords a new type of 2D molecular metals with composition (CNB-EDT-TTF)4X based on an unprecedented bilayer structure of the donors induced by effective head to head interdonor interactions through the nitrile groups, which is responsible for 2D metallic systems with unusual properties such as the higher band filling, larger effective mass of carriers, and almost degenerated double Fermi surfaces.

Dithiophene-TTF Salts; New Ladder Structures and Spin-Ladder Behavior.

(α-DT-TTF)2[Au(i-mnt)2] and (α-DT-TTF)2[Co(mnt)2] are two new salts of the donor α-dithiophene-tetrathiafulvalene with stable diamagnetic anions, both presenting a ladder structure of the donors organized in paired segregated stacks. The first one is isostructural with previously reported closely related compounds and presents a magnetic spin-ladder behavior with J∥= 83.5 K and J⊥ = 110.3 K as estimated from spin susceptibility data in single crystals. (α-DT-TTF)2[Co(mnt)2] presents a new structural type with a different arrangement of pairs of donor stacks, alternating with stacks of dimerized [Co(mnt)2] anions which are however arranged in an uncorrelated fashion perpendicular to the stacking axis. Due to the strong coupling between the disordered anion chains and the donor chains, this compound does not present a magnetic spin-ladder behavior. The low temperature superstructure of (DT-TTF)2[Cu(mnt)2] below the transition at 235 K, previously known to be associated with a lattice doubling along the stacking axis, was solved by synchrotron radiation diffraction in small single crystals. It is found that this dimerization is due to donor charge localization with the spin carriers being associated with fully oxidized donor species alternating with neutral donors.