  Super and hyperhalogens are a class of highly electronegative species whose
electron affinities far exceed those of halogen atoms and are important to
chemical industry as oxidizing agents, bio-catalysts, and building blocks of
salts. Using Wade-Mingos rule well known for describing the stability of
closo-boranes (BnHn2-) and state of the art theoretical method we show that a
new class of super and hyperhalogens, guided by this rule, can be formed by
tailoring the size and composition of borane derivatives. Unlike conventional
superhalogens which have a metal atom at the core surrounded by halogen atoms,
the superhalogens formed using the Wade-Mingos rule do not have to have either
halogen or metal atoms. We demonstrate this by using B12H13 and its
isoelectronic cluster, CB11H12 as examples. We also show that while
conventional superhalogens containing alkali atoms require at least two halogen
atoms, only one borane-like moiety is sufficient to render M(B12H12) (M=Li, Na,
K, Rb, Cs) clusters superhalogen properties. In addition, hyperhalogens can be
formed by using the above superhalogens as building blocks. Examples include
M(B12H13)2 and M(C-B11H12)2 (M=Li - Cs). This finding opens the door to an
untapped source of superhalogens and weakly coordinating anions with potential
applications.
