Recent Advances in the Field of Main-Group Mono- and Diatomic 'Allotropes' Stabilised by Neutral Ligands.

The study of ligand stabilised mono- and diatomic zero oxidation state complexes is a young and fascinating topic. This area merges the fields of low-oxidation-state main-group chemistry, homoatomic multiple bonding and fundamental coordination chemistry. As with a great deal of recent coordination chemistry within the d-block, carbene ligands are clearly the star of the show, highlighting their importance within the p-block as well. This Minireview focuses on the significant developments of the past two years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]