A group theoretical paradigm for describing the skeletal molecular orbitals of cluster compounds. Part 1. Deltahedral clusters

Abstract

Group theory and the Pairing Principle, inherent in Stone's Tensor Surface Harmonic Theory, have been applied to deltahedral clusters. Four classes of deltahedral cluster have been identified on the basis of their topological characteristics. Each of the classes has a characteristic spectrum of frontier molecular orbitals which determines the nature of deviations from the (N+ 1) skeletal electron pair rule.