Organic-Inorganic Layer Compounds as Molecular Functional Materials

Abstract

Many molecular charge transfer salts synthesised over the last 20 years contain alternating layers of organic donor cations and inorganic metal-complex anions. Here we survey some features of one of the most prolific families of such salts: (BEDT-TTF)4[AM(C2O4)3]. G, where BEDT-TTF is bis-ethylene-dithiotetrathiafulvalene, A is a monopositive cation, M a tri-positive cation and G an organic guest molecule. The roles of anion chirality, molecular conformational disorder and the formation of superlattice ordering of layer packing are emphasised.