Breaking the plane: B5H5 is a three-dimensional structure.

In this study, we delved into the structure of B5H5 and questioned some of its accepted assumptions. By exploring the potential energy surface, we found a new three-dimensional structure as the global minimum. This finding is in contrast with the previously hypothesized planar and cage-like models. Our exploration extends to the kinetic stability of various B5H5 isomers, offering insights into the dynamic behavior of these molecules.

Unveiling the electronic and structural consequences of removing two electrons from B12H122.

The notion that a regular icosahedron is unattainable in neutral B12H12 has persisted for nearly 70 years. This is because 24 valence electrons are used for B-H bonds, while another 24 electrons are necessary to maintain the deltahedron, unlike the 26 used in the dianion. According to Wade-Mingos rules, the neutral system should be a deltahedron with a capped face. Nevertheless, our exploration of the potential energy surface of B12H12 reveals that the global minimum is a closed-shell form with an H2 unit attached to a boron vertex of B12H10, preserving the deltahedral boron skeleton.

Structural effects of alkali-metals on the B12 skeleton.

After an exhaustive exploration of the potential energy surface of B12E- and B12E2 (E = Li-Cs) systems, it was found that for the anionic series, a cage-type and a quasi-planar structure (very similar to the naked B12 cluster) compete to be the putative global minimum. For neutral systems, competition arises between the quasi-planar cluster and a double-ring with the alkali-metals on the highest-symmetry axis. The chemical bonding analyses show that for the entire series, the interaction, predominantly electrostatic, is essentially indistinguishable regardless of the alkali-metal and insufficient for determining the isomeric preference. The isomerization energy decomposition analysis (IEDA) reveals that in the anions, the structural change in the lighter complexes is possible because of the relatively low energy required for the boron skeleton deformation, as opposed to the case of heavy metals. In the case of the neutral systems, the factor determining one isomer over the other corresponds to that of the energy deformation of the alkali-metal dimer.

Structure and Bonding in CE5- (E=Al-Tl) Clusters: Planar Tetracoordinate Carbon versus Pentacoordinate Carbon.

The structure, bonding, and stability of clusters with the empirical formula CE5- (E=Al-Tl) have been analyzed by means of high-level computations. The results indicate that, whereas aluminum and gallium clusters have C2v structures with a planar tetracoordinate carbon (ptC), their heavier homologues prefer three-dimensional C4v forms with a pentacoordinate carbon center over the ptC one. The reason for such a preference is a delicate balance between the interaction energy of the fifth E atom with CE4 and the distortion energy. Moreover, bonding analysis shows that the ptC systems can be better described as CE4- , with 17-valence electrons interacting with E. The ptC core in these systems exhibits double aromatic (both σ and π) behavior, but the σ contribution is dominating.