Open AccessA minimal cage of a diamond twin with chirality
Author(s) -
T. Fukunaga,
Takeshi Kato,
Koki Ikemoto,
Hiroyuki Isobe
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2120160119
Subject(s) - diamond , tetrahedron , chirality (physics) , cage , isotropy , trigonal crystal system , crystallography , topology (electrical circuits) , materials science , combinatorics , chemistry , physics , mathematics , optics , crystal structure , quantum mechanics , chiral symmetry , nambu–jona lasinio model , composite material , quark
Significance Diamonds enchant people with their beauty, which has also been defined by mathematics. The existence of strong isotropy with maximal symmetry in carbon networks has been mathematically disclosed, which has led to a proposal of a diamond twin. Unlike tetrahedral vertices of the diamond, trigonal vertices of the diamond twin achieve strong isotropy, notably, with chirality. In the diamond twin, 14 trigonal vertices are connected by 15 edges to form a minimal cage. Although the diamond-twin network indeed had a four-decade history in theory, it remained imaginary in reality due to its inevitable instability of the minimal cage. In this paper, the carbonaceous minimal cage of the diamond twin has been synthesized, which reveals unique structural features including helical chirality.