Neutral, closed-shell nickel bis(2-alkylthio-thiazole-4,5-dithiolate) complexes as single component molecular conductors

Abstract

Neutral nickel bis(dithiolene) complexes, because of their closed-shell character, are usually considered as insulating materials, unless they are formed out of highly delocalized tetrathiafulvalenedithiolate ligands. We describe here an original series of S-alkyl substituted neutral bis(thiazole-4,5-dithiolate) nickel complexes formulated as [Ni(RS-tzdt)₂] (R = Me, Et), which organize in the solid state into uniform stacks and exhibit semiconducting behavior, with room temperature conductivities comparable to those reported in the prototypical [Ni(dmit)₂] and [Ni(Et-thiazdt)₂] neutral complexes. These findings provide new perspectives in the current search for single component molecular conductors.