Regensburg 2013 – scientific programme

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MM: Fachverband Metall- und Materialphysik

MM 13: Topical Session: Quasicrystals & Complex Metallic Alloys III

MM 13.5: Talk

Monday, March 11, 2013, 16:45–17:00, H25

Cu–Sn Cluster Compounds — •Saskia Stegmaier, Thomas F. Fässler, and Karsten Reuter — Technische Universität München, Germany

Nanostructured intermetallic materials attract wide interest because of their structural and physical properties and the related potential for applications, for example in catalysis or electronics.
The intermetallic compounds A₁₂Cu₁₂Sn₂₁ (A = Na, K, Rb, Cs) [1] and Na_2.8Cu₅Sn_5.6 [2] feature intriguing new Cu–Sn cluster species. These are onion-skin-like {Sn@Cu₁₂@Sn₂₀} clusters with quasi-icosahedral symmetry and related pseudo-five-fold symmetric _∞¹{Sn_0.6@Cu₅@Sn₅} rods, respectively. In the solid state structures of the A–Cu–Sn phases the polyanionic Cu–Sn clusters or rods are separated from each other by alkali metal cations. The ternary phases thus represent promising precursors for the synthesis of new nanostructured binary Cu–Sn materials.
In view of this perspective we perform density functional theory calculations to computationally search for such potential Cu–Sn compounds—including discrete clusters and wires, as well as 3D periodic structures.

[1] S. Stegmaier, T. F. Fässler, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2011, 133, 19758.
[2] S. Stegmaier, T. F. Fässler, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2012, 51, 2647.