Formation of the first aryl zinc-hydroxy cubane, [ArZn(OH)]4 (Ar = 2,4,6-(CF3)3C6H2)

The compound [ArZn(OH)]4 (Ar = 2,4,6-(CF3)3C6H2), formed by aggregation of the hydrolysis product of ArZnCl, has a cubane-like structure at 120 K; this is the first structurally characterised example of such a zinc(II) derivative with a simple aromatic group on Zn, and with the bridges formed by –OH rather than –OR groups. It crystallises as a hemisolvate in the triclinic system View the MathML source(P1¯), with a single molecule in the asymmetric unit, together with one CHCl3 (or CDCl3) molecule per two molecules of the tetramer.