Metal Assisted Synthesis of Cationic Sulfidobismuth Cubanes in Ionic Liquids

Invited for this month's cover is the group of Michael Ruck at the Technische Universität Dresden (Germany). The cover picture shows the spiro-dicubane Bi₇ S₈ ⁵⁺ in the center, accompanied by two Bi₄ S₄ ⁴⁺ hetero-cubanes on both sides, which are shown along their threefold axis. These sulfidobismuth polycations were isolated in salts with [AlCl₄ ]^- and [S(AlCl₃ )₃ ]^2- anions. The starting material was Bi₂ S₃ , which is generally hard to dissolve but can easily be activated under ionothermal conditions. Moreover, the presence of noble metal ions, such as Ag⁺ , Au⁺ or Pt²⁺ , played a crucial role for the formation of those compounds. This research was performed in the framework of the Priority Program SPP 1708 "Material Synthesis Near Room Temperature" of the German Research Council (DFG). Read the full text of their Full Paper at 10.1002/open.202000246.