Dispersive forces and dipole moment increase as driving forces for the formation of an unprecedented metallophilic heterotrimetallic system

The crystal structure of the polymeric complex [Au5Ag2Tl3(C6F5)10(L1)2]n (L1=1-aza-4,10-dithia-7-oxacyclododecane) displays heterotrimetallic Ag⋅⋅⋅Au⋅⋅⋅Tl moieties and is held by unsupported metallophilic interactions. This complex emits at 500 nm in the solid state. Ab initio calculations show that the large thermodynamic stability that helps the formation of this heterotrimetallic system arises from the combination of dispersive forces and a very large dipole moment in the supramolecular arrangement.