Cluster (chemistry)

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In chemistry, a cluster is a polycyclic array of atoms that is intermediate in character between a molecule and a solid. The shape of a cluster is based upon a trangular-faced polyhedron, also known as a deltahedron. Using a set of semi-empirical rules devised by K. Wade and extended by M. Mingos known either as Wade's Rules or Polyhedral skeletal electron pair theory it is possible to determine, often unambiguously, the shape of a cluster from its chemical formula.