Published: 1997
Total Pages: 39
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Over the previous twenty years, ternary molybdenum chalcogenides of the general formula M(subscript x)Mo6Y (M = ternary metal cation; Y = chalcogenide), known as Chevrel phases, have been extensively studied. Many of these compounds have been found to have superconductivity, catalytic activity and ionic conductivity. The rich chemistry of the Chevrel phases raises considerable interest in finding the tungsten analogues of these phases. However, no such analogue has ever been synthesized, although the Chevrel phases are usually prepared directly from elements at high temperatures above 1000°C. The absence of the tungsten analogues may be caused by their thermodynamic instability at such high temperatures. Thus it might be necessary to avoid high-temperature synthetic procedures in order to establish the ternary and binary tungsten chalcogenides. A major focus of the McCarley research group has been on the preparation of M6YL6 (M = Mo, W; Y = S, Se, Te) cluster complexes as low temperature pathways to the Chevrel phases.
