Controlling inorganic structure and dimensionality through structure-directing agents is a versatile approach for new materials synthesis that has been used extensively for metal–organic frameworks and coordination polymers. However, the lack of ‘solid’ inorganic cores requires charge transport through single-atom chains and/or organic groups, limiting their electronic properties. Here, we report that strongly interacting diamondoid structure-directing agents guide the growth of hybrid metal–organic chalcogenide nanowires with solid inorganic cores having three-atom cross-sections, representing the smallest possible nanowires. The strong van der Waals attraction between diamondoids overcomes steric repulsion leading to a cis configuration at the active growth front, enabling face-on addition of precursors for nanowire elongation. These nanowires have band-like electronic properties, low effective carrier masses and three orders-of-magnitude conductivity modulation by hole doping. This discovery highlights a previously unexplored regime of structure-directing agents compared with traditional surfactant, block copolymer or metal–organic framework linkers.

通过结构导向剂控制无机结构和尺寸是一种用于新材料合成的通用方法，该方法已广泛用于金属-有机骨架和配位聚合物。但是，缺乏“固态”无机核需要通过单原子链和/或有机基团进行电荷传输，从而限制了它们的电子性能。在这里，我们报告说，强烈相互作用的类金刚石结构导向剂可引导杂化金属-有机硫族化物纳米线与具有三个原子横截面的固态无机核（代表最小的纳米线）一起生长。类固醇之间的强大范德华力吸引力克服了空间排斥力，导致顺式在活跃的增长前沿配置，可以面对面添加纳米线延伸的前体。这些纳米线具有带状电子特性，低有效载流子质量和通过空穴掺杂的三个数量级的电导率调制。与传统的表面活性剂，嵌段共聚物或金属有机骨架连接体相比，这一发现突出了结构导向剂的一种先前未曾探索过的体系。