Polyhedral boron nitride molecules

The geometrical and electronic structures of two isomers (1 and2) of the polyhedral boron nitride molecule, B₁₂N₁₂, have been calculated using the MNDO method. Structure1 having the form of a truncated octahedron is more energetically preferable (ΔH _f ⁰=−128 kcal mol⁻¹) than isomer2, which hasC _6v symmetry. The equilibrium geometries of the N₆B₆(CH₂)₆ isomers (3 and4), which simulate fragments of structure2, have been calculated. The stabilization mechanism of the N₆ nitrogen cluster (hexaazabenzene) in polyhedral structures is discussed. The parameters calculated for molecules1 and2 have been correlated with the corresponding characteristics of their carbon analogs. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 10, pp. 1712–1714, October, 1993.