Carbon-boron clathrates as a new class of sp(3)-bonded framework materials

Zhu, Li; Borstad, Gustav M.; Liu, Hanyu; Gunka, Piotr A.; Guerette, Michael; Dolyniuk, Juli-Anna; Meng, Yue; Greenberg, Era N.; Prakapenka, Vitali B.; Chaloux, Brian L.; Epshteyn, Albert; Cohen, Ronald E. and Strobel, Timothy A. (2020): Carbon-boron clathrates as a new class of sp(3)-bonded framework materials. In: Science Advances, Vol. 6, No. 2, eaay8361

Abstract

Carbon-based frameworks composed of sp(3) bonding represent a class of extremely lightweight strong materials, but only diamond and a handful of other compounds exist despite numerous predictions. Thus, there remains a large gap between the number of plausible structures predicted and those synthesized. We used a chemical design principle based on boron substitution to predict and synthesize a three-dimensional carbon-boron framework in a host/guest clathrate structure. The clathrate, with composition 2Sr@B6C6, exhibits the cubic bipartite sodalite structure (type VII clathrate) composed of sp(3)-bonded truncated octahedral C12B12 host cages that trap Sr2+ guest cations. The clathrate not only maintains the robust nature of diamond-like sp(3) bonding but also offers potential for a broad range of compounds with tunable properties through substitution of guest atoms within the cages.

• Item Type: Journal article
• Faculties: Geosciences > Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
• Subjects: 500 Science > 550 Earth sciences and geology
• ISSN: 2375-2548
• Language: English