Bilayer B80 Structure: High Stability and Experimental Support for Existence

TL;DR

This paper proposes a stable B80 bilayer structure supported by DFT calculations, demonstrating its high stability, aromaticity, and experimental spectral agreement, suggesting its potential in nanoscale electronics.

Contribution

It introduces a novel B80 bilayer structure with confirmed stability and electronic properties, expanding the known structural diversity of boron clusters.

Findings

Maintains structural integrity up to 1400 K

Reproduces experimental photoelectron spectra accurately

Shows significant aromaticity and a 0.72 eV HOMO-LUMO gap

Abstract

The recent experimental characterization of B80- via photoelectron spectroscopy stimulated renewed interest in exploring B80 clusters. Here, a D3h-symmetric B80 bilayer structure has been proposed using density functional theory calculations. Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations confirm that the bilayer structure maintain its structural integrity up to 1400 K, indicating superior thermodynamic stability compared to previously known B80 configurations, including the B80 buckyball and volleyball-like structures. Vibrational frequency analysis confirms its kinetic stability. Electronic structure calculations reveals a HOMO-LUMO gap of 0.72 eV and pronounced aromaticity, further supported by a nucleus-independent chemical shift (NICS(0)) value of -44.3 ppm in the interlayer B-B bonds. The simulated photoelectron spectrum of the B80- bilayer reproduces key experimental features, with vertical detachment energies agreeing with experimental peaks within 0.04 eV. These findings support the potential existence of this bilayer configuration, and enrich the structural diversity of boron clusters, offering promising prospects for applications in nanoscale electronics.