The effects of halogen elements on the opening of an icosahedral B framework.

The fully halogenated or hydrogenated BX (X = H, F, Cl, Br and I) clusters are confirmed to be icosahedral. On the other hand, the bare B cluster is shown to have a planar structure. A previous study showed that a transformation from an icosahedron to a plane happens when 5 to 7 iodine atoms are remained [P.