Structure and Fluxionality of B13+ Probed by Infrared Photodissociation Spectroscopy

We use cryogenic ion vibrational spectroscopy to characterize the structure and fluxionality of the magic number boron cluster B₁₃⁺. The infrared photodissociation (IRPD) spectrum of the D₂‐tagged all‐¹¹B isotopologue of B₁₃⁺ is reported in the spectral range from 435 to 1790 cm⁻¹ and unambiguously assigned to a planar boron double wheel structure based on a comparison to simulated IR spectra of low energy isomers from density‐functional‐theory (DFT) computations. Born–Oppenheimer DFT molecular dynamics simulations show that B₁₃⁺ exhibits internal quasi‐rotation already at 100 K. Vibrational spectra derived from these simulations allow extracting the first spectroscopic evidence from the IRPD spectrum for the exceptional fluxionality of B₁₃⁺.