ICMol is involved in a project that stabilises a metallic nickel atom in an unprecedented state, opening up possibilities for the development of new devices and catalysts

An international team with the participation of the Institute for Molecular Science (ICMol) has succeeded in stabilising a negatively charged nickel atom, without ligands, in a carbon molecular cage, thus challenging the traditional laws of chemistry. Finding opens new avenues for the design and development of smaller, more efficient and unique nanomaterials for electronics, magnetic devices and the catalyst industry

The study, recently published in Nature Chemistry, describes the isolation and stabilization, within a small carbon cage, of a nickel atom with a very unusual negative charge (-2), an unprecedented advance in transition metal chemistry.

Although metallic elements are usually oxidised by giving electrons to non-metallic elements, which is why they have a positive charge in their compounds, in rare circumstances, when surrounded by the appropriate ligands, they can present themselves in negatively charged states. The work led by Peking University (China) and the Institute of Molecular Science (ICMol), located in the scientific-business area of the Science Park of the University of Valencia (PCUV), has achieved that an electropositive metal, like nickel, accepts electrons and behaves as an electronegative species, stabilized by encapsulation inside a fullerene nanostructure.

"Traditionally it was thought that certain behaviour of transition metals could not be achieved without the aid of specific ligands. However, by stabilising these compounds without ligands in a carbon molecular cage, we are opening doors to possibilities that previously seemed unthinkable", Eugenio Coronado, director of ICMol

"This achievement challenges the classical paradigms of chemistry and opens up new possibilities for the design of nanoscale materials with unique properties, which could have applications in the development of new electronic devices, the UV inorganic chemistry and responsible for the Spanish collaboration in the study, and researcher. "This is a fascinating finding that challenges some of the more classical principles of coordination chemistry and transition metal reactivity," explains Eugenio Coronado. "Traditionally it was thought that certain behaviour of transition metals could not be achieved without the aid of specific ligands. However, by stabilising these compounds without ligands in a carbon molecular cage, we are opening the door to possibilities that previously seemed unthinkable,' says the UV scientist.

Participation in this work reinforces ICMol’s leadership in the study of advanced molecular nanomaterials, as well as its commitment to frontier science that, while complex, has great potential for impact on future technologies.

Source: ICMol