Unprecedented Conversion of a Compound with Metal–Metal Bonding into a Solvated Molecular Wire

One-electron reduction of the rhodium complex 1 has resulted in the first successful conversion of a discrete metal–metal bonded “dimer” into a one-dimensional polymer (2). The doped material 2 (depicted on the right) differs significantly from the well-known tetracyanoplatinates in that the metal backbone is cationic. In addition, there is the possibility of fine-tuning the material properties by varying the organic group.