Polar Intermetallics Pr 5 Co 2 Ge 3 and Pr 7 Co 2 Ge 4 With Planar Hydrocarbon-Like Metal Clusters
Planar hydrocarbon-like metal clusters may foster new insights linking organic molecules with conjugated π-π bonding interactions and inorganic structures in terms of their bonding characteristics. However, such clusters are uncommon in polar intermetallics. Herein, we report two polar intermetallic phases, Pr 5 Co 2 Ge 3 and Pr 7 Co 2 Ge 4 , both of which feature such planar metal clusters, viz., ethylene-like [Co 2 Ge 4 ] clusters plus the concatenated forms and polyacene-like [Co 2 Ge 2 ] n ribbons in Pr 5 Co 2 Ge 3 , and 1,2,4,5-tetramethylbenzene-like [Co4Ge6] cluster in Pr 7 Co 2 Ge 4 . Just as in the related planar organic structures, these metal-metalloid species are dominated by covalent bonding interactions. Both compounds magnetically order at low temperature with net ferromagnetic components: Pr 5 Co 2 Ge 3 via a series of transitions below 150 K; and Pr 7 Co 2 Ge 4 via a single ferromagnetic transition at 19 K. Spin-polarized electronic structure calculations for Pr 7 Co 2 Ge 4 reveal strong spin-orbit coupling within Pr and considerable magnetic contributions from Co atoms. This work suggests that similar structural chemistry can emerge for other rare earth-late transition metal-main group systems.