Cluster molecular orbitals and an orbital symmetry view of solid phase transitions in perovskites

The molecular orbitals, normalization constants and energies of the M₈(O_h), M₄(T_d) and M₆(O_h) clusters are derived and tabulated through the d-atomic orbitals. A vector method, adapted to computer application, is devised to compute s, p and d overlap between variously oriented orbitals at atoms that do not have co-directional local axes. Mixing of σ, π and δ orbitals to give the same irreducible representation is also included. As illustrations, the orbitals of Sr₈, La₈, TiO₆ and AlO₆ clusters are computed by the Mulliken—Wolfsberg and Helmholz approximations. During solid phase transitions in the perovskite structures of SrTiO₃ and LaAlO₃, the TiO₆ octahedron rotates about the C₄ axis whereas the AlO₆ octahedron rotates about the C₃ axis. This difference is explained qualitatively in terms of the relative symmetries of the cluster HOMOs and LUMOs using the second-order Jahn—Teller effect. Allusions are made to the application of this cluster symmetry approach to other systems.