Related papers: Icosahedra boron chain and sheets: new boron allot…
We report on a novel reconstruction of the alpha-boron (111) surface, discovered using an ab initio evolution structure search, and reveal that it has an unexpected neat structure and much lower surface energy than the recently proposed…
In this work, we present large-scale electron-correlated computations on various conformers of B$_{12}$H$_{12}$ and B$_{12}$H$_{6}$ clusters, to understand the reasons behind the high stability of di-anion icosahedron ($I_{h}$) and…
A family of unusually stable boron cages was identified and examined using first-principles local density functional method. The structure of the fullerenes is similar to that of the B12 icosahedron and consists of six crossing…
Using density functional theory (DFT) and quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) calculations we show that the B12Hn and B12Fn (n = 0-4) quasi-planar structures are energetically more favorable than the corresponding icosahedral clusters. Moreover, we…
Boron carbide exhibits intrinsic substitutional disorder over a broad composition range. The structure consists of 12-atom icosahedra placed at the vertices of a rhombohedral lattice, together with a 3-atom chain along the 3-fold axis. In…
The structures, stability, mechanical and electronic properties of a-boron and its twined brother a*-boron have been studied by first-principles calculations. Both a-boron and a*-boron consist of equivalent icosahedra B12 clusters in…
The atomic structure of icosahedral B$_4$C boron carbide is determined by comparing existing infra-red absorption and Raman diffusion measurements with the predictions of accurate {\it ab initio} lattice-dynamical calculations performed for…
The assessed phase diagram of the boron-carbon system contains a single non-stoichiometric boron-carbide phase of rhombohedral symmetry with a broad, thermodynamically improbable, low temperature composition range. We combine first…
A highly efficient semi-empirical Hamiltonian has been developed and applied to model the compact boron clusters with the intermediate size. The Hamiltonian, in addition to the inclusion of the environment-dependent interactions and…
We identify a new family of boron-rich compounds consisting of interconnected B$_{12}$ icosahedra, and electropositive guest atoms ($X$) in interstitial sites. These structures were found through first-principles crystal structure…
Boron is the fifth element in the periodic table and possesses rich chemistry second only to carbon. A striking feature of boron is that B12 icosahedral cages occur as the building blocks in bulk boron and many boron compounds. This is in…
We propose a structural path for the icosahedra <-> fcc transition in clusters and demonstrate the transition in Pb_13 by ab initio molecular-dynamics simulation. The proposed path can be described by using only two variables. The energy…
We describe a new family of icosahedral structures for lead clusters. In general, structures in this family contain a Mackay icosahedral core with a reconstructed two-shell outer-layer. This family includes the anti-Mackay icosahedra, which…
Recently low-temperature structural transition has been reported for complex cubic compounds Cd6M (M=Ca, Yb, Y, rare earth) and it is believed that the transition is due to orientational ordering of an atomic shell in the icosahedral…
The fully halogenated or hydrogenated B12X12 (X = H, F, Cl, Br and I) clusters are confirmed to be icosahedral. On the other hand, the bare B12 cluster is shown to have a planar structure. A previous study showed that a transformation from…
We investigate the equilibrium geometries and the systematics of bonding in various isomers of a 24-atom boron cluster using Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics within the framework of density functional theory. The isomers studied are the…
A stable core-shell structure with Ih symmetry, Au12@Au30, has been investigated by first-principles calculations. It is composed of an icosahedron core and an icosidodecahedron shell. The stability of the core-shell Au42 structure is…
In this paper we propose a tight-binding molecular dynamics with parameters fitted to first-principles calculations on the smaller clusters and with an environment correction, to be a powerful technique for studying large transition/noble…
The complex crystal chemistry of elemental boron has led to numerous proposed structures with distinctive motifs as well as contradictory findings. Herein, evolutionary structure searches performed at 100 GPa have uncovered a series of…
Boron is an element of fascinating chemical complexity. Controversies have shrouded this element since its discovery was announced in 1808: the new 'element' turned out to be a compound containing less than 60-70 percent of boron, and it…