Skyrmion models for three-dimensional aromaticity in deltahedral boranes

The duals of the polyhedra for the deltahedral boranes BnHn2− (n=6, 8, 10, 12) have the same geometries as those of symmetric skyrmions arising from the non-linear field theory of a system of interacting mesons and B=12(n+2) baryon (proton and/or neutron) sources within a nucleus. In the application of such a skyrmion model to the skeletal chemical bonding in deltahedral boranes, acetylenic HBBH units are considered to be the analogues of the mesons and the chemical interactions between the HBBH units necessary to construct deltahedra with even numbers of boron atoms are considered to be analogues of baryons.