Abstract
A study of structural relaxations of SinCm clusters corresponding to different compositions, different relative arrangements of Si/C atoms, and different types of initial structure, reveals that the SinCm bucky-diamond structure can be obtained for an initial network structure constructed from a truncated bulk 3C-SiC for a magic composition corresponding to n = 68 and m = 79. This study was performed using a semi-empirical Hamiltonian (SCED–LCAO) since it allowed an extensive search of different types of initial structures. However, the bucky-diamond structure predicted by this method was also confirmed by a more accurate density functional theory (DFT) based method. The bucky-diamond structure exhibited by a SiC-based system represents an interesting paradigm where a Si atom can form three-coordinated as well as four-coordinated networks with carbon atoms and vice versa and with both types of network co-existing in the same structure. Specifically, the bucky-diamond structure of the Si68C79 cluster consists of a 35-atom diamond-like inner core (four-atom coordinations) suspended inside a 112-atom fullerene-like shell (three-atom coordinations).
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