title: Manganese-centered tubular boron cluster - MnB16 (-): A new class of transition-metal molecules.
abstract: We report the observation of a manganese-centered tubular boron cluster (MnB16 (-)), which is characterized by photoelectron spectroscopy and ab initio calculations. The relatively simple pattern of the photoelectron spectrum indicates the cluster to be highly symmetric. Ab initio calculations show that MnB16 (-) has a Mn-centered tubular structure with C4v symmetry due to first-order Jahn-Teller effect, while neutral MnB16 reduces to C2v symmetry due to second-order Jahn-Teller effect. In MnB16 (-), two unpaired electrons are observed, one on the Mn 3dz(2) orbital and another on the B16 tube, making it an unusual biradical. Strong covalent bonding is found between the Mn 3d orbitals and the B16 tube, which helps to stabilize the tubular structure. The current result suggests that there may exist a whole class of metal-stabilized tubular boron clusters. These metal-doped boron clusters provide a new bonding modality for transition metals, as well as a new avenue to design boron-based nanomaterials.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA.
authors.forename: Tian
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jian
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry & Key Laboratory of Organic Optoelectronics and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Wan-Lu
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Utah State University, Logan, Utah 84322, USA.
authors.forename: Ivan A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Popov
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA.
authors.forename: Gary V
authors.initials: GV
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry & Key Laboratory of Organic Optoelectronics and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Utah State University, Logan, Utah 84322, USA.
authors.forename: Alexander I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Boldyrev
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry & Key Laboratory of Organic Optoelectronics and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA.
authors.forename: Lai-Sheng
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Wang