Synthesis, crystal structure and photoconductivity of the first [60]fullerene complex with metal diethyldithiocarbamate: {CuII(dedtc)2}2.C60.

The first molecular complex of fullerene C60 with metal dithiocarbamate, namely, {CuII(dedtc)2}2.C60(dedtc: diethyldithiocarbamate) (1) was obtained as single crystals. Butterfly-shaped CuII(dedtc)2 molecules efficiently co-crystallized with spherical fullerene molecules to form a layered structure, in which closely packed hexagonal C60 layers alternate with the layers composed of CuII(dedtc)2 dimers. The formation of the complex with C60 changes geometry and the EPR spectrum of starting CuII(dedtc)2. Magnetic susceptibility of 1 follows the Curie-Weiss law in the 300-1.9 K range with the negative Weiss constant of -2.5 K showing a weak antiferromagnetic interaction between CuII centers in the dimers. The crystals of 1 have low dark conductivity of 10(-11) S cm-1, which is consistent with a neutral ground state of the complex. Illumination of the crystals by white light increases the photocurrent by 20-50 times. The photoconductivity spectrum of 1 has a maximum at 470 nm showing that both intermolecular charge transfer between neighboring C60 molecules and photoexcitation of CuII(dedtc)2 can contribute to photogeneration of free charge carriers. The effect of a weak magnetic field with Bo<0.5 T on the photoconductivity of 1 has been found.