Chemists from Goethe University have synthesised a compound featuring 20 silicon atoms in a dodecahedron. According to the team, the development opens up new perspectives for the semiconductor industry.
The Si20 dodecahedron is roughly as large as the C60 molecule – or Buckyball – discovered in 1985. However, while the carbon atoms in C60 form double bonds, the atoms in the silicon dodecahedron are connected through single bonds and this, says the team, means it is related to dodecahedrane (C20H20). "In its day, dodecahedrane was viewed as the 'Mount Everest' of organic chemistry because it initially could only be synthesised through a 23 step sequence. In contrast, our Si20 cage can be created in one step starting from Si2 building blocks," said Professor Matthias Wagner.
The Si20 hollow bodies are always filled with a chloride ion. On its surface, the cluster carries eight Cl atoms and 12 Cl3Si groups. In the future, the researchers are planning to use the surface bound Cl3Si anchor groups to produce three dimensional nanonetworks out of Si20 units.
According to Prof Wagner: "Spatially strictly limited silicon nanoparticles display fundamentally different properties to conventional silicon wafers." Access to siladodecahedrane is therefore said to open up the possibility of studying the fundamental electronic properties of cage like Si nanoparticles.
Author
Graham Pitcher
Source: www.newelectronics.co.uk