Abstract
Fullerene cages are ideal hosts to encapsulate otherwise unstable metallic clusters to form endohedral metallofullerenes (EMFs). Herein, a novel Ti2C2 cluster with two titanium atoms bridged by a C2-unit has been stabilized by three different fullerene cages to form Ti2C2@D3h(5)-C78, Ti2C2@C3v(8)-C82, and Ti2C2@Cs(6)-C82, representing the first examples of unsupported titanium carbide clusters. Crystallographic results show that the configuration of the Ti2C2 cluster changes upon cage variation. In detail, the Ti2C2 cluster adopts a butterfly shape in Ti2C2@C3v(8)-C82 and Ti2C2@Cs(6)-C82 with Ti-C2-Ti dihedral angles of 156.35 and 147.52° and Ti-Ti distances of 3.633 and 3.860 Å, respectively. In sharp contrast, a stretched planar geometry of Ti2C2 is observed in Ti2C2@D3h(5)-C78, where a Ti-C2-Ti angle of 176.87° and a long Ti-Ti distance of 5.000 Å are presented. Consistently, theoretical calculations reveal that the cluster configuration is very sensitive to the cage shape which eventually determines the electronic structures of the hybrid EMF-molecules, thus adding new insights into modern coordination chemistry.
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