Icosahedral B12-containing core–shell structures of B80

Abstract

Low-lying icosahedral (I(h)) B(12)-containing structures of B(80) are explored, and a number of core-shell isomers are found to have lower energy than the previous predicted B(80) fullerene. The structural transformation of boron clusters from tubular structure to core-shell structure may occur at a critical size less than B(80).