Abstract
A review of the cluster compounds of the group III metals (aluminum, gallium, and indium) with group VI donor atoms, focusing on recent developments in the author's laboratory, is given. Compounds with oxide, and related hydroxide, alkoxide and siloxide ligands, are discussed with relevance to the Kaminsky co-catalyst (methylalumoxane), and the sol-gel synthesis of group III oxide ceramics, respectively. The sulfide clusters [(tBu)GaS] x undergo a facile topological rearrangement between the different oligomers (i.e., x = 4, 6, 7, and 8), while the cubane cluster [(tBu)GaS]4 provides the first evidence that new metastable phases of binary compounds may be deposited by chemical vapor deposition from a predesigned molecular motif. The structural relevance of the group II/VI clusters to solid state materials is also discussed.