Mesostructured metal germanium sulfides

A new class of mesostructured metal germanium sulfide materials has been pr epared and characterized. The synthesis, via supramolecular assembly of wel l-defined germanium sulfide anionic cluster precursors and transition-metal cations in formamide, represents a new strategy fbr the formation of this class of solids. A variety of techniques were employed to examine the struc ture and composition of the materials. Structurally, the material is best d escribed as a periodic mesostructured metal sulfide-based coordination fram ework akin to periodic hexagonal mesoporous silica, MCM-41. At the molecula r scale, the materials strongly resemble microstructured metal germanium su lfides, in which the structure of the [Ge4S10](4-) cluster building-blocks are intact and linked via mu-S-M-S bonds. Evidence for a metal-metal bond i n mesostructured Cu/GeD10 is also provided.