The B35 cluster with a double-hexagonal vacancy: a new and more flexible structural motif for borophene

Elemental boron is electron-deficient and cannot form graphene-like structures. Instead, triangular boron lattices with hexagonal vacancies have been predicted to be stable. A recent experimental and computational study showed that the B36 cluster has a planar C6v structure with a central hexagonal hole, providing the first experimental evidence for the viability of atom-thin boron sheets with hexagonal vacancies, dubbed borophene. Here we report a boron cluster with a double-hexagonal vacancy as a new and more flexible structural motif for borophene. Photoelectron spectrum of B35(-) displays a simple pattern with certain similarity to that of B36(-). Global minimum searches find that both B35(-) and B35 possess planar hexagonal structures, similar to that of B36, except a missing interior B atom that creates a double-hexagonal vacancy. The closed-shell B35(-) is found to exhibit triple π aromaticity with 11 delocalized π bonds, analogous to benzo(g,h,i)perylene (C22H12). The B35 cluster can be used to build atom-thin boron sheets with various hexagonal hole densities, providing further experimental evidence for the viability of borophene.