Researchers have stumbled upon the first all-metal molecules that seem to have properties like those of certain common carbon-based molecules, including some that underlie life and others widely used in industry.
The new metal structures show a tantalizing trait called aromaticity. This molecule-stabilizing property was named after the first such molecules identified, including benzene, which have noticeable aromas. But not all aromatics actually smell, and neither does this metallic newcomer, says Alexander I. Boldyrev of Utah State University in Logan. He and his colleagues report their finding in the Feb. 2 Science.