Formation Mechanism and Binding Energy for Regular Octahedral Structure of Li 6 Cluster

The formation mechanism for the regular octahedral structure of Li6cluster is proposed. The curve of the total energy versus the separation R between any two neighboring nuclei has been calculated by using the method of Gou's modified arrangement channel quantum mechanics (MACQM). The result shows that the curve has a minimal energy of −44.736 89 a.u. at R = 5.07a0. When R approaches infinity, the total energy of six lithium atoms has the value of −44.568 17 a.u. So the binding energy of Li6 with respect to six lithium atoms is 0.1687 a.u. Therefore, the binding energy per atom for Li6 is 0.028 12 a.u., or 0.7637 eV, which is greater than the binding energy per atom of 0.453 eV for Li2 and the binding energy per atom of 0.494 eV for Li3 calculated in our previous work. This means that the Li6 cluster may be formed in a regular octahedral structure with a greater binding energy.