Cluster harvesting by successive reduction of a metal halide with a nonconventional reduction agent: a benefit for the exploration of metal-rich halide systems.

The preparation of thermally labile compounds is a great temptation in chemistry which requires a careful selection of reaction media and reaction conditions. With a new scanning technique denoted here as Cluster Harvesting, a whole series of metal halide compounds is detected by differential thermal analysis (DTA) in fused silica tubes and structurally characterized by X-ray powder diffraction. Experiments of the reduction of tungsten hexahalides with elemental antimony and iron are presented. A cascade of six compounds is identified during the reduction with antimony, and five compounds or phases are monitored following the reduction with iron. The crystal structure of Fe2W2Cl10 is reported, and two other phases in the Fe-W-Cl system are discussed.