Li8Si8, Li10Si9, and Li12Si10: Assemblies of Lithium-silicon Aromatic Units.

We report the global minima structures of Li8Si8, Li10Si9, and Li12Si10, in which silicon moieties maintain the structural and chemical bonding characteristics, similar to those of their building blocks: the aromatic clusters Td-Li4Si4 and C2v-Li6Si5. Electron counting rules 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.