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Science 31 March 2006:
Vol. 311. no. 5769, pp. 1904 - 1907
DOI: 10.1126/science.1123945
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Reports

A Linear Homocatenated Compound Containing Six Indium Centers

Michael S. Hill,1* Peter B. Hitchcock,2 Ruti Pongtavornpinyo1

In contrast to carbon and its heavier congeners, group 13 elements are rarely observed to catenate into linear chains. Here, we find that treatment of indium(I) iodide with a protonated N-xylyl ß-diketiminate and a strong potassium base in tetrahydrofuran yields a hexa-indium chain. X-ray crystallography revealed one ß-diketiminate ligand bound to each indium center with no bridging ligands supporting the five indium-indium single bonds. The terminal indium centers were capped with iodine. Electronic spectroscopy and computations on a model compound offer preliminary support for {sigma} delocalization along the chain.

1 Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
2 Chemistry Laboratory, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 9QJ, UK.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: mike.hill{at}imperial.ac.uk

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