title: Chemical bonding in electron-deficient boron oxide clusters: core boronyl groups, dual 3c-4e hypervalent bonds, and rhombic 4c-4e bonds.
abstract: We explore the structural and bonding properties of the electron-deficient boron oxide clusters, using a series of B3On(-/0/+) (n = 2-4) clusters as examples. Global-minimum structures of these boron oxide clusters are identified via unbiased Coalescence Kick and Basin Hopping searches, which show a remarkable size and charge-state dependence. An array of new bonding elements are revealed: core boronyl groups, dual 3c-4e hypervalent bonds (ω-bonds), and rhombic 4c-4e bonds (o-bonds). In favorable cases, oxygen can exhaust all its 2s/2p electrons to facilitate the formation of B-O bonds. The current findings should help understand the bonding nature of low-dimensional boron oxide nanomaterials and bulk boron oxides.
authors.affiliation: Nanocluster Laboratory, Institute of Molecular Science, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China. hj.zhai@sxu.edu.cn lisidian@sxu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Haigang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Hua-Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Zhai
authors.forename: Si-Dian
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Li