Cluster compounds of the monovalent elements aluminium, gallium, indium, and thallium with strong bonding element-element interactions are known in literature only since about eight years, and since that time the investigation of their syntheses and physical as well as chemical properties is a rapidly growing field in current organoelement chemistry, which already yielded some remarkable and unprecedented results. The syntheses of those element© derivatives succeeded by disproportionation reactions starting with compounds of the corresponding bivalent elements, by the reaction of element© halides or cydopentadienides with, for instance, organolithium derivatives, and by the reduction of organoelement compounds of the trivalent elements. Usually, they are tetrameric in the solid state with a more or less distorted tetrahedral arrangement of the monovalent atoms. But there is a remarkable tendency of some of these compounds to dissociate in the gas phase or in dilute solutions and to form monomelic fragments, which exhibit a strong coordinative and electronic unsaturation. These organoelement© compounds show a singular chemical reactivity. Their complete oxidation by treatment with chalcogens gave heterocubane type molecules, partial oxidation with sulfur or reactions with phosphorous gave electron deficient cluster or cage molecules with a fascinating bonding situation. The monomers can be trapped by cycloaddition reactions. They are similar to carbon monoxide and can replace CO in transition metal carbonyl complexes, which opens the route to the formation of novel complexes containing transition metals and elements of the third main group. 1. INTRODUCTION The chemistry of the monovalent elements aluminium, gallium, indium, and thallium has long been restricted to inorganic derivatives like thal-lium© halides or mixed valence species like Ga[GaBr 4 ] 4 [1], Organoelement compounds containing the monovalent elements were firstly obtained for the heavier elements indium and thallium by using cyclopentadienyl groups, which generally were coordinated in a pentahapto fashion. Depending on the steric demand of the ligands, a fascinating structural chemistry was observed. One-dimensional coordination polymers with bridging cyclopentadienyl groups were formed by small ligands like C5H5 240 Brought to you by | Purdue University Libraries