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Theoretical chemistry

The six-bond bound

What is the maximum number of covalent chemical bonds that two atoms can share? Six, according to the latest theoretical study — at least where just two atoms of the same element are concerned.

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Figure 1: Six bonds that bind.

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Frenking, G., Tonner, R. The six-bond bound. Nature 446, 276–277 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/446276a

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