An -polyhedral
graph (sometimes called a -net) is a 3-connectedsimpleplanar graph
on
nodes. Every convex polyhedron can be represented
in the plane or on the surface of a sphere by a 3-connected planar
graph. Conversely, by a theorem of Steinitz as restated by Grünbaum (2003,
p. 235), every 3-connected planar graph can be realized as a convex
polyhedron (Duijvestijn and Federico 1981). Polyhedral graphs are sometimes simply
known as "polyhedra" (which is rather confusing since the term "polyhedron"
more commonly refers to a solid with faces, not vertices).
The number of distinct polyhedral graphs having , 2, ... vertices are 0, 0, 0, 1, 2, 7, 34, 257, 2606, ...
(OEIS A000944; Grünbaum 2003, p. 424;
Duijvestijn and Federico 1981; Croft et al. 1991; Dillencourt 1992). Through
duality, each polyhedral graph on nodes corresponds to a graph (and polyhedron) with faces. So the polyhedral graphs on
nodes are isomorphic to the convex polyhedra
with
faces. There is therefore a single tetrahedral graph,
two pentahedral graphs, etc., meaning also that
there is a single tetrahedron, two pentahedra,
etc.
There is no known formula for enumerating the number of nonisomorphic polyhedral graphs by numbers of edges , vertices , or faces (Harary and Palmer 1973, p. 224; Duijvestijn and Federico
1981). The numbers for the first few are summarized in the table below.
Duijvestijn and Federico (1981) enumerated the polyhedral graphs on edges, obtaining 1, 0, 1, 2, 2, 4, 12, 22, 58, 158, 448, ...
(OEIS A002840) for , 7, 8, ....
The smallest nonnamiltonian polyhedral graph is the Herschel graph, which has 11 nodes. The
numbers of non-Hamiltonian polyhedral graphs on , 12, ... nodes are 1, 2, 30, 239, 2369, 22039, 205663,
... (OEIS A007030; Dillencourt 1991). Similarly,
the numbers of non-Hamiltonian polyhedral graphs with , 10, ... faces are 1, 8, 135, 2557, ... (OEIS A007032;
Dillencourt 1991).
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manuscript. Eindhoven, Netherlands: Philips Research Laboratories, 1960.Croft,
H. T.; Falconer, K. J.; and Guy, R. K. §B15 in Unsolved
Problems in Geometry. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1991.Dillencourt,
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M. B. "Polyhedra of Small Orders and Their Hamiltonian Properties."
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tape. Enschede, Netherlands: Twente Univ. Technology, 1979.Duijvestijn,
A. J. W. and Federico, P. J. "The Number of Polyhedral (3-Connected
Planar) Graphs." Math. Comput.37, 523-532, 1981.Federico,
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Th.7, 155-161, 1969.Federico, P. J. "The Number
of Polyhedra." Philips Res. Rep.30, 220-231, 1975.Fleischner,
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