Vote for your favorite molecule of 2026
Boron buckyball
The possibility of a stable, 80-atom sphere made entirely of boron had been debated for nearly 2 decades; scientists finally created it this year (Chem. Sci. 2026, DOI: 10.1039/d6sc02674e). The researchers made the soccer ball–shaped molecular cages by vaporizing a boron target with a laser and analyzed them using photoelectron spectroscopy. For now, the buckyballs are accessible only in tiny quantities, but if scientists can figure out a bulk synthesis method, B80 clusters could find uses in semiconductors and hydrogen storage materials.
‘Impossible’ hydroxy oxonium