From the journal:

Chemical Communications

Synthesis, characterization and electronic properties of the icosahedral Zintl cluster [Ag@Pb12]3−

Qing-Xue Ma, ORCID logo a   Cong-Cong Shu,b   Jiao-Yang Qiao,a   Cai-Xia Dong*c  and  Zhong-Ming Sun ORCID logo *a  

* Corresponding authors

a State Key Laboratory of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, Tianjin Key Lab of Rare Earth Materials and Applications, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
E-mail: sunlab@nankai.edu.cn

b Department of Chemistry and Research Center for Chemical Biology and Omics Analysis, College of Science, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China

c College of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Technology, Hohhot, China
E-mail: dongcx@imut.edu.cn

Abstract

The icosahedral Zintl cluster [Ag@Pb12]3− has been successfully synthesized via the reaction of K4Pb9 with an NHC–silver complex, finally enriching the group 11 triad of icosahedral plumbaspherenes after nearly ten years of pursuit. This unique series allows us to decouple the effects of metal identity (Ag vs. Au) and cage size (Pb11 vs. Pb12) on geometry and bonding. Structural comparison with [Au@Pb12]3− and [Ag@Pb11]3− reveals how metal identity and cage size govern geometry and electronic properties.

Graphical abstract: Synthesis, characterization and electronic properties of the icosahedral Zintl cluster [Ag@Pb12]3−

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Article information

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1039/D6CC01018K
Article type
Communication
Submitted
15 Feb 2026
Accepted
10 Apr 2026
First published
17 Apr 2026

Chem. Commun., 2026, Advance Article

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Synthesis, characterization and electronic properties of the icosahedral Zintl cluster [Ag@Pb12]3−

Q. Ma, C. Shu, J. Qiao, C. Dong and Z. Sun, Chem. Commun., 2026, Advance Article , DOI: 10.1039/D6CC01018K

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