Gas phase inorganic synthesis: copper sulfide cluster anions react with phosphorus, P4, to generate copper compounds with PmSn ligands

Abstract

Anions [Cu _x S _y ] ^- reacted with P ₄ (g) to form products which were formally addition of P ₂ units, but are shown by density functional calculations and collisional induced dissociation to contain P _n S _m ligands co-ordinated to copper; the reactivities of the [Cu _x S _y ] ^- ions correlate with their geometrical rather than electronic structures, according to the principles which are described.