Theoretical Investigation of Metallic Heterofullerenes of Silicon and Germanium Mixed with Phosphorus and Arsenic Atoms M-A8E6, A = Si, Ge; E = P, As; and M = Cr, Mo, W.

Recently, metallic heterofullerenes were experimentally prepared from mixed Ge-As clusters and heavier elements of groups 14 and 15. We found that the shape of these heterofullerenes doped by transition metals appears to be a general structural motif for both silicon and germanium clusters when mixing with phosphorus and arsenic atoms. Structural identifications for MSi8P6, MSi8As6, MGe8P6, and MGe8As6 clusters, with M being a transition metal of group 6 (Cr, Mo and W), showed that most MA8E6 clusters, except for Cr-doped derivatives CrSi8As6, CrGe8P6, and CrGe8As6, exhibit a high-symmetry fullerene shape in which metal dopant is centered in a D3h A8E6 heterocage consisting of six A3E2 pentagonal faces and three A2E2 rhombus faces. The stability of the MA8E6 metallic heterofullerene is significantly enhanced by formation an electron configuration of [1S2 1P6 1D10 1F14 1G18 2S2 2P6 2D10] enclosing 68 electrons. The A8E6 heterocages give a great charge transfer (∼4 electrons) to centered dopant, establishing subsequently a d10 configuration for metal, and as a consequence, it induces an additional stabilization of the resulting ME8P6 fullerene in a high-symmetry D3h shape and completely quenches the high spin of the metal atom, finally yielding a singlet spin ground state.