Starlike aluminum-carbon aromatic species

Is it possible to achieve molecules with starlike structures by replacing the H atoms in (CH)_n^q aromatic hydrocarbons with aluminum atoms in bridging positions? Although D_4h C₄Al ₄^2- and D₂ C₆Al₆ are not good prospects for experimental realization, a very extensive computational survey of fifty C₅Al₅^- isomers identified the starlike D_5h global minimum with five planar tetracoordinate carbon atoms to be a promising candidate for detection by photoelectron detachment spectroscopy. BOMD (Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics) simulations and high-level theoretical computations verified this conclusion. The combination of favorable electronic and geometric structural features (including aromaticity and optimum C-Al-C bridge bonding) stabilizes the C₅Al ₅^- star preferentially.