Planar hexagonal B(36) as a potential basis for extended single-atom layer boron sheets.
Boron is carbon's neighbour in the periodic table and has similar valence orbitals. However, boron cannot form graphene-like structures with a honeycomb hexagonal framework because of its electron deficiency. Computational studies suggest that extended boron sheets with partially filled hexagonal holes are stable; however, there has been no experimental evidence for such atom-thin boron nanostructures. Here, we show experimentally and theoretically that B36 is a highly stable quasiplanar boron cluster with a central hexagonal hole, providing the first experimental evidence that single-atom layer boron sheets with hexagonal vacancies are potentially viable. Photoelectron spectroscopy of B36(-) reveals a relatively simple spectrum, suggesting a symmetric cluster. Global minimum searches for B36(-) lead to a quasiplanar structure with a central hexagonal hole. Neutral B36 is the smallest boron cluster to have sixfold symmetry and a perfect hexagonal vacancy, and it can be viewed as a potential basis for extended two-dimensional boron sheets.
Department of Chemistry, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA.
Zachary A
ZA
Piazza
Department of Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Organic Optoelectronics and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
Han-Shi
HS
Hu
Department of Chemistry, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA.
Wei-Li
WL
Li
Department of Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Organic Optoelectronics and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
Ya-Fan
YF
Zhao
Department of Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Organic Optoelectronics and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
Jun
J
Li
Department of Chemistry, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA.
Lai-Sheng
LS
Wang