Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-chemistry-course-of-the-year-4-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2022/paper-2/section-h/33/d/ii/solution

Use the neutral-fragment skeletal count: each AlMe supplies two electrons, each CEt supplies three and the bridging H supplies one. Hence
There are 13 nonhydrogen skeletal vertices, eight Al plus five C, and pairs. In the usual PSEP classification this is therefore arachno, corresponding to a 15-vertex closo parent with two vertices absent. The μ-H cap contributes an electron but is not counted as a carbon-like skeletal vertex. The aluminium cube is a convenient subframework; its eight corners alone are not the complete Wade skeleton. Calculations on capped cubic carbaalanes likewise identify 16 skeletal pairs for the five-carbon-cap/one-hydride-cap case.[ref]

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