Modern aspects on tri- and tetranuclear cluster complexes supported by phosphido bridges

This report on small cluster complexes with metal-metal bonds in the field of coordination chemistry documents results in the following scientific areas. (1) Systematic synthetic routes via ditransition metal carbonyl derivative of manganese and rhenium (group 7) to functionalizedtriangulo- andtetrahedro-clusters including structural characterization, (2) Dynamic properties of mono- and diauration isomers like M₂(μ-AuPR₃)(μ-PCyH)(CO)₈/M₂(μ-H)(μ₃-PCy(AuPR₃))(CO)₈ (isomerization) and M₂(μ-AuPR₃)₂(μ₄-PCy)(CO)₈/M₂(μ-AuPR₃)(μ₃-PCy(AuPR₃))(CO)₈ (M = Mn, Re; R = organic residue) (rearrangement and valence isomerization) and MM’(μ-H)(μ-PCy₂)(μ₄-PCy(AuPR₃))(CO)₆ (M = M’, M ≠ M’) (topomerization) going from one to the other homologue and the kinetic study of isomerization in the framework Re₂(AuPCy₃)₂(μ-PMeN₂(μ-C(Bu)O)(CO)₆, (3) Correlations of chirality transfer in diastereomerictetrahedro-clusters Re₂(M¹PR₃)₂(μ-PCy₂)(CO)₇(η¹-L*) (M¹ = coin metals, L* = chiral ligand as (+) or (-) prolinate, for example) from CD data. These selected contributions will be discussed to answer the question “Do small cluster complexes remain as a future challenge in cluster chemistry?”