Insight into the formation of bismuth-tungsten carbonyl clusters

Multimetallic clusters play a key role as models to doped metals, as candidates to new types of superatomic catalysts and as precursors to new multimetallic solids. Understanding formation pathways is an essential and necessary step forward in the development of cluster synthesis and research, yet remains considerably lacking owing to difficulty in identification of intermediates and the ill-defined nature of common starting materials. Here we show progress in this regard by investigating the reactivity of an intermetallic solid of nominal composition 'K5Ga2Bi4' with [W(cod)(CO)4] upon extraction with ethane-1,2-diamine (en) and 4,7,13,16,21,24-hexaoxa-1,10-diazabicyclo[8.8.8]hexacosane (crypt-222). Several polybismuthide intermediates and by-products were identified along the reaction pathway, ultimately forming the new polybismuthide salt [K(crypt-222)]3[µ:η3-Bi3{W(CO)3}2]∙en∙tol. DFT calculations revealed plausible reaction schemes for the transformations taking place in the reaction mixture providing insight into the complex reactivity of 'K5Ga2Bi4' on the basis of in situ generation of Bi22-.