Planar Pentacoordinate Silicon And Germanium Atoms

The global minimum of XMg4Y- (X = Si, Ge; Y = In, Tl) and SiMg3In2 contains a planar pentacoordinate atom of group 14 other than carbon. Its design is based on the "localization" approach, replacing one or two peripheral atoms in XMg52- by more electronegative ones. This change diminishes the repulsion and leads to stronger covalent X-Y bonds, stabilizing the planar pentacoordinate atom species.