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Science 2 May 2003:
Vol. 300. no. 5620, pp. 778 - 780
DOI: 10.1126/science.1082342
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Reports

Interpenetrating As20 Fullerene and Ni12 Icosahedra in the Onion-Skin [As@Ni12@As20]3– Ion

Melanie J. Moses, James C. Fettinger, Bryan W. Eichhorn*

The [As@Ni12@As20]3– ion was prepared from As73– and Ni(COD)2 in ethylenediamine solutions and isolated as the Bu4P+ salt (As, arsenic; Ni, nickel; COD, cyclooctadiene; Bu, butyl; P, phosphorus). The anion contains an icosahedral [Ni12(µ12-As)]3– fragment that resides at the center of an As20 dodecahedral (fullerene) cage to give an onion-skin–like [As@Ni12@As20]3– cluster with Ih point symmetry. The icosahedron and pentagonal dodecahedron are reciprocal platonic solids, and the 32 surface atoms form a dimpled geodesic sphere composed of 60 triangular faces. In the gas phase, the [As@Ni12@As20]3– ion sequentiallyloses all 21 As atoms to form a series of Ni12As21–x clusters where 0 <= x <= 21, inclusively.

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20782, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: eichhorn{at}umd.edu

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)