“…Electron-rich polyoxometalates (POMs) featuring metal–metal bonding have been receiving increasing attention due to their unusual molecular/crystal/electronic structures and promising applications in sustainable batteries, supercapacitors, nanoelectronics (POMtronics), medicine, and catalysis. , Deeply reduced M 3 IV -POMs (M = Mo, − W − ) are of special interest in aspects of the peculiarities in polytropic molecular/crystal/electronic structures, − the next generation of molecular cluster batteries, , electronic storage, − memristive devices, and Lewis field catalysis − among others. The Mo VI → Mo IV super-reduction of POMs dramatically changes the molecular and electronic structures and hence physicochemical properties in the following ways: (1) the rigid peripheral Mo V/VI O double bonds are replaced by labile Mo IV ←: L dative bonds (L = Lewis base ligand), which functionalizes POMs with Mo IV Lewis acid active sites; (2) the d 2 -Mo IV addenda atom forms strong triangular Mo–Mo bonds with the two neighboring Mo IV atoms in the resulting Mo 3 IV triad boasting six d 2 –d 2 bonding electrons; (3) the coordinating ability of the internal capping oxygen atom in the incomplete cuboidal [M 3 IV (μ 3 -O 4 )(μ 2 -O 3 )] unit is markedly weakened by the enhanced μ 3 -O–Mo 3 IV bonding; (4) the Mo IV Lewis acidity and Lewis basicity of the bridging (O b ) or thermal (O t ) oxygen atoms are enhanced by Mo 3 IV → O x M IV y electron transfer; and (5) the much shorter Mo IV –Mo IV bonds than the Mo VI ···Mo VI separations by more than 0.6 Å lead to the contraction and lowered symmetry of POMs .…”