Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2011
Tight binding crystal orbital calculations on infinite layers of graphite have been performed for charge transfer (q) values ranging from −0.15 to +0.15 e/carbon atom. The rC-C carbon-carbon bond lengths have been optimized at several q values. The change of the calculated rC-C values as a function of q fits very well with the experimentally observed variations of the C-C bond lengths of both acceptor and donor compounds of intercalated graphite. The asymmetry of the variation of rC-c with respect to the sign of the charge transfer is related to the slightly antibonding nature (at the level of second neighbor interactions) of the π-electrons around the Fermi level of pristine graphite, similar to those in polyacetylene.