Structural characterisation of two crystalline modifications of [Au9{P(C6H4OMe-p)3}8](NO3)3: the first example of skeletal isomerism in metal cluster chemistry

Abstract

[Au₉{P(C₆H₄OMe-p)₃}₈](NO₃)₃crystallizes from CH₂Cl₂–toluene in two crystalline modifications one tetragonal and the other orthorhombic; single crystal X-ray crystallographic determinations on the two modifications have demonstrated that the tetragonal modification has a skeletal geometry derived from an icosahedron and the orthorhombic modification a centred crown skeletal geometry.