page_title: Aluminium(I)
section_title: Metalloidal Clusters
hierarchical_section_title: Aluminium(I) / Metalloidal Clusters
caption_attribution_description: English: aluminium octahedral with t-bu
context_page_description: In chemistry, aluminium(I) refers to monovalent aluminium in both ionic and covalent bonds. Along with aluminium(II), it is an extremely unstable form of aluminium.
  While late Group 3 elements such as thallium and indium prefer the +1 oxidation state, aluminium(I) is rare. Unlike late Group XIII elements, aluminium does not experience the inert pair effect, a phenomenon where valence s electrons are poorly shielded from nuclear charge due to the presence of filled d and f orbitals. As such, aluminium (III) is the much more common oxidation state for aluminium.
  Aluminium(I) compounds are both prone to disproportionation and difficult to prepare. At standard conditions, they readily oxidize to the aluminium(III) form.
context_section_description: Work in aluminium clusters has been done by Linti and Schnockel. These metalloidal clusters can be formed from Al(I) compounds, namely aluminium monohalides. These clusters are termed "metalloidal clusters" because the number of unbridged metal-metal bonds is greater than the number of localized metal-ligand bonds. On the way to metal formation, intermediates are trapped in the presence of the bulky ligands which substitute the halide atoms. As a result, metal-rich clusters such as Al₇₇R₂₀ are possible and offer insight into solid bulk metal formation.
  Tetrahedral aluminium is available from the reaction between aluminium(I) species and organometallic species. These clusters can be made through combinations such as AlCp* and LiR, AlBr and Li(THF)₃(SiMe₃)3, and AlI and NaSiBu₃.
  This method of cluster formation created the only known incidence of an octahedral aluminium cluster, [Al₆(tBu)₆]⁻, which was formed by reaction between AlCl and ᵗBuLi. Similarly, AlCl and LiN(SiMe₃)₂ react to form the first known example of a cluster where two M₄ tetrahedra are connected by a common center.
caption: [Al6(tBu)6]•- cluster, as synthesized by Linti et al.[6] This is the first octahedral aluminium cluster synthesized.
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