Trends in the cohesive properties of sp bonded elements

Abstract

The trends in the cohesive energy, nearest-neighbour distance and compressibility of all sp bonded elements are discussed using a semiempirical tight binding approach. It is first shown that two very simple models describe these trends and also demonstrate the Grimm-Sommerfeld rule for elements with more than a half filled valence shell. A more complete numerical calculation is then performed which confirms these predictions, giving results in quantitative agreement with the observed values