Li8 Si8 , Li10 Si9 , and Li12 Si10 : Assemblies of Lithium-Silicon Aromatic Units.

We report the global minima structures of Li8 Si8 , Li10 Si9 , and Li12 Si10 systems, in which silicon moieties maintain structural and chemical bonding characteristics similar to those of their building blocks: the aromatic clusters Td -Li4 Si4 and C2v -Li6 Si5 . Electron counting rules, chemical bonding analysis, and magnetic response properties verify the silicon unit's aromaticity persistence. This study demonstrates the feasibility of assembling silicon-based nanostructures from aromatics clusters as building blocks.