Novel Conductive Radical Cation Salts Based on Methylenediselenotetraselenafulvalene (MDSe-TSF): A Sign of Superconductivity in κ-(MDSe-TSF) 2Br Below 4 K

Seven conductive radical cation salts based on MDSe-TSF (methylenediselenotetraselenafulvalene) have been synthesized by electrocrystallization in the presence of Cl −, Br −, I 3 −, I 2Br −, PF 6 −, ClO 4 −, and Cu(NCS) 2 − counter anions. The crystal appearances of these salts fairly depend on the anions employed. X-ray crystallographic analyses have revealed that the PF 6 and ClO 4 salts in the shape of brown thin plates adopt the θ-type structures characterized by the herringbone arrangement of donor stacks, whereas the Cl and Br salts in the shape of black thick plates favor the κ-type structures with the orthogonal arrangement of donor dimers. Regardless of different crystal appearances or crystal packing patterns, all these salts show high conductivity (>10 2 S cm −1) at room temperature and retain metallic properties down to 4.2 K. Of them, the Br salt shows a weak but distinct diamagnetic shielding signal below 4 K in the dc magnetization measurement under zero-field-cooled (ZFC) condition, suggesting a sign of superconductivity. The band calculations of both PF 6 and Br salts demonstrate closed Fermi surfaces indicative of two-dimensional molecular conductors.