Formation Mechanism and Binding Energy for Body-Centred Regular Icosahedral Structure of Li 13 Cluster

The formation mechanism for the body-centred regular icosahedral structure of Li13 cluster is proposed. The curve of the total energy versus the separation R between the nucleus at the centre and nuclei at the apexes for this structure of Li13 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 –96.951 39 a.u. at R = 5.46a0. When R approaches to infinity, the total energy of thirteen lithium atoms has the value of –96.564 38 a.u. So the binding energy of Li13 with respect to thirteen lithium atoms is 0.387 01 a.u. Therefore the binding energy per atom for Li13 is 0.029 77 a.u. or 0.810 eV, which is greater than the binding energy per atom of 0.453 eV for Li2, 0.494 eV for Li3, 0.7878 eV for Li4, 0.632 eV for Li5, and 0.674 eV for Li7 calculated by us previously. This means that the Li13 cluster may be formed stably in a body-centred regular icosahedral structure with a greater binding energy.