Aromaticity of all-metal clusters

Abstract

The first all-metal aromatic cluster, Al42−, face-capped by an M+ cation (M = Li, Na, Cu), was detected in 2001. Since then, several all-metal aromatic clusters have been extensively studied. Here, we review the most significant developments that have occurred mainly in our labs, including topics ranging from the difficulty of measuring aromaticity in metal clusters to the use of current techniques to investigate aromaticity in both small and large metal clusters.