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[B 30 ] − : A Quasiplanar Chiral Boron Cluster
Author(s) -
Li WeiLi,
Zhao YaFan,
Hu HanShi,
Li Jun,
Wang LaiSheng
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.201402488
Subject(s) - chirality (physics) , cluster (spacecraft) , boron , x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , enantiomer , fullerene , chemistry , chemical physics , crystallography , spectral line , hexagonal crystal system , cluster chemistry , computational chemistry , nanotechnology , materials science , physics , stereochemistry , molecule , chiral symmetry , organic chemistry , nuclear magnetic resonance , quantum mechanics , computer science , nambu–jona lasinio model , programming language , quark
Chirality is vital in chemistry. Its importance in atomic clusters has been recognized since the discovery of the first chiral fullerene, the D 2 symmetric C 76 .1 A number of gold clusters have been found to be chiral,2 raising the possibility to use them as asymmetric catalysts. The discovery of clusters with enantiomeric structures is essential to design new chiral materials with tailored chemical and physical properties.3 Herein we report the first inherently chiral boron cluster of [B 30 ] − in a joint photoelectron spectroscopy and theoretical study. The most stable structure of [B 30 ] − is found to be quasiplanar with a hexagonal hole. Interestingly, a pair of enantiomers arising from different positions of the hexagonal hole are found to be degenerate in our global minimum searches and both should co‐exist experimentally because they have identical electronic structures and give rise to identical simulated photoelectron spectra.