Chapter 2.

Molecular Structure and Bonding

Lewis structures: a review
Lewis Theory
3.1 The octet rule
All elements except hydrogen ( hydrogen have a duet of electrons) have octet of electrons once
they from ions and covalent compounds.
The Lewis dot symbols for atoms and ions shows how many electrons are need for a atom to fill
the octet. Noramlly there are octet of electrons on most monoatomic ions
Basic rules drawing Lewis dot symbols:
1. Draw the atomic symbol.
2. Treat each side as a box that can hold up to two electrons.
3. Count the electrons in the valence shell.
Start filling box - don’t make pairs unless you need to.

Elements try to complete their valence shell to achieve noble-gas electron configurations. The
stability of noble/inert gases must be due to their filled valence shell. Elements either loose/gain
or share electrons for this purpose. Electron transfer is associated with the formation of ionic
compounds. Covalent compounds are formed when electrons are shared between atoms.
A Lewis symbol is a symbol in which the electrons in the valence shell of an atom or simple ion
are represented by dots placed around the letter symbol of the element. Each dot represents one
electron.

Hydrogen
Oxygen

Chlorine

Chloride ion

A covalent bond is a chemical bond formed by the sharing of a pair of electrons between two
atoms.
The Lewis structure of a covalent compound or polyatomic ion shows how the valence
electrons are arranged among the atoms in the molecule to show the connectivity of the atoms.
Instead of using two dots to indicate the two electrons that comprise the covalent bond, a line is
substituted for the two dots that represent the two electrons.

Below is shown the Lewis structure for water. Two hydrogens (H) are separately covalently
bonded to the central oxygen (O) atom. The bonding electrons are indicated by the dashes
between the oxygen (O) and each hydrogen (H) and the other two pairs of electrons that
constitute oxygens octet, are called non-bonding electrons as they are not involved in a covalent
bond.

Rules for getting Lewis Structures

1. Determine whether the compound is covalent or ionic. If covalent, treat the entire molecule. If
ionic, treat each ion separately. Compounds of low electronegativity metals with high
electronegativity nonmetals (EN 1.6) are ionic as are compounds of metals with polyatomic
anions. For a monoatomic ion, the electronic configuration of the ion represents the correct
Lewis structure. For compounds containing complex ions, you must learn to recognize the
formulas of cations and anions.
2. Determine the total number of valence electrons available to the molecule or ion by:
(a) summing the valence electrons of all the atoms in the unit and
(b) adding one electron for each net negative charge or subtracting one electron for each net
positive charge. Then divide the total number of available electrons by 2 to obtain the number of
electron pairs (E.P.) available.
3. Organize the atoms so there is a central atom (usually the least electronegative) surrounded by
ligand (outer) atoms. Hydrogen is never the central atom.
4. Determine a provisional electron distribution by arranging the electron pairs (E.P.) in the
following manner until all available pairs have been distributed:
a) One pair between the central atom and each ligand atom.
b) Three more pairs on each outer atom (except hydrogen, which has no additional pairs),
yielding 4 E.P. (i.e., an octet) around each ligand atom when the bonding pair is included in the
count.
c) Remaining electron pairs (if any) on the central atom.
Types of Electrons Pairs
Bond pair: electron pair shared between two atoms.
Lone pair: electron pair found on a single atom.

Molecules obeying the octet rule.

In many molecules, each atom (except hydrogen) is surrounded by eight bonding or lone-pair
electrons. There is a special stability associated with this configuration. Examples are water,
ammonia and methane.

The ground state (g.s.) configuration

of N has three unpaired electrons.
Each hydrogen atom has one. No
rearrangement is necessary to make
the three N-H bonds. Be sure to mark
the lone pair on the Lewis diagram.

The ground state of carbon has only

two unpaired electrons, but it is
necessary to make four bonds to the
hydrogens. The solution, in this case, is
to promote a 2s electron to the empty p orbital. Then four bonds can be made.
SiH4 has the same Lewis Structure as CH4 since Si and C are in the same group.
Lewis structure of CCl4
i) Valence electrons: 4 (from one carbon)+ 28 (7 from each chlorine) = 32 = 16 electron pairs
ii) Central atom
iii) Octet on C is already complete iv). Count electrons
4 x 3 lone pairs = 12 pairs
4 x 4 bond pairs = 4 pairs
16 electron pairs
Lewis Structure of CCl4. CF4 and CBr4 have similar structures.
Lewis Structure of PCl3
i) Valence electrons: 5 + 3 x 7 = 26 (13 pairs)
ii) Central atom is P
iii) Connect to terminal atoms to central atom
vi) Give octet to P and give octets to Cl
v) Count electron pairs:
3 bond pairs = 3 pairs
1 + 3 x 3 = 10 lone pairs = 10 pairs
13 pairs

NF3 and NCl3 have similar Lewis Structures.

Molecules with multiple bonds:

Examples: Consider carbon dioxide CO2

1. The first step in drawing Lewis structures is to determine the number of electrons to be
used to connect the atoms. This is done by simply adding up the number of valence
electrons of the atoms in the molecule.

carbon (C) has four valence electrons x 1 carbon = 4 e-

oxygen (O) has six valence electrons x 2 oxygens = 12 e-
There are a total of 16 e- to be placed in the Lewis structure.

1. Connect the central atom to the other atoms in the molecule with single bonds.

Carbon is the central atom, the two oxygens are bound to it and electrons are added to
fulfill the octets of the outer atoms.
 2. Complete the valence shell of the outer atoms in the molecule.

3. Place any remaining electrons on the central atom.

There are no more electrons available in this example.

4. If the valence shell of the central atom is complete, you have drawn an acceptable Lewis
structure.

Carbon is electron deficient - it only has four electrons around it. This is not an
acceptable Lewis structure.

5. If the valence shell of the central atom is not complete, use a lone pair on one of the outer
atoms to form a double bond between that outer atom and the central atom. Continue this
process of making multiple bonds between the outer atoms and the central atom until the
valence shell of the central atom is complete.

becomes

The central atom is still electron deficient,

so share another pair.

The best Lewis structure that can be drawn for carbon dioxide is:.
Lewis Structure of nitrosyl chloride NOCl

Setting up the bonding in this molecule is straight forward. Note the lone pairs, especially the
one on the nitrogen.

Neutral nitrogen has 3 unpaired

electrons, while one negatively
charged oxygen and two neutral
ones would have 5 unpaired
electrons between them. You must
move one electron from nitrogen to
a neutral oxygen to get the
configurations shown. Notice the
formal charges marked where they
belong on the Lewis structure.
Bond Order and Bond Length
The bond order is equal to the number of bonds between two atoms.

The bond length is the distance between those two atoms. The greater the number of electrons
between two atoms, the closer the atoms can be brought towards one another, and the shorter the
bond.

The BO is an indication of the bond length, the greater the bond order, the shorter the bond.

Formal charge
Formal charge is an accounting procedure. It allows chemists to determine the location of charge
in a molecule as well as compare how good a Lewis structure might be. The formula for
calculating formal charge is shown below:

Consider the molecule H2CO2. There are two possible Lewis structures for this molecule. Each
has the same number of bonds. We can determine which is better by determining which has the
least formal charge. It takes energy to get a separation of charge in the molecule (as indicated by
the formal charge) so the structure with the least formal charge should be lower in energy and
thereby be the better Lewis structure. There are two possible Lewis structures for this molecule.
Each has the same number of bonds. We can determine which is better by determining which has
the least formal charge. It takes energy to get a separation of charge in the molecule (as indicated
by the formal charge) so the structure with the least formal charge should be lower in energy and
thereby be the better Lewis structure. The two possible Lewis structures are shown below. They
are connected by a double headed arrow and placed in brackets. The non-zero formal charge on
any atoms in the molecule have been written near the atom.
Electron deficient molecules: atoms have less than octet of electrons
Do not have enough electrons to satisfy the the octet rule. Simple examples are beryllium
hydride and boron trichloride:
Lewis Structure of BeCl2
Beryllium, an element of the second column of the periodic classification, has for electronical
configuration : [He] 2s2. It has two single bonds with two atoms in BeCl2.

Berillium do not have a octet, therfore, BeCl2 is an electron deficient compound. Be has only
four electorns. BeCl2 violate octet rule.
Lewis Structure of BCl3

The boron must be in a suitable valence

state to bind to the three chlorines. In
the molecule the boron is associated
with only six electrons. Much of the
chemistry of this molecule and ones
like it is connected with the resulting
strong elecrophilic nature. Other
examples include the boron hydrides
such as diborane and alkyl-lithium, beryllium and aluminum compounds, which will be
described later.
Lewis Structure of BF3

i) Count total valence electrons: 3 + 3 x 7 = 24 (12 electron pairs)

ii) Central atom is B
iii) Connect central atom terminal atoms:
iv) 3 bonds pairs on B.
3 lone pairs on 3F
3 + 3 x 3 = 12 pairs
Boron do not have a octet, therfore, BF3 is an electron deficient compound. BF3 violate
octet rule.

Lewis Structure of BH3

Similarly BH3 has the Lewis Structure:

B has on 3 electron pairs. BH3 violates octet rule. It exists as diborane B2H6

Lewis Structure of AlCl3

Similarly AlCl3 has the Lewis Structure:
Al has only 3 electron pairs. AlCl3 also violates octet rule and exists as a dimer Al2 Cl6.
Atoms having odd numbers of electrons.
Example, nitrogen dioxide NO2

Total of 17 valence electrons are present.

24 electrons would be needed to satisfy the valencies independently.
24-17 = 7. The odd number of electrons is a signal that there will be a place where we would
normally expect to find another electron. When you have some experience with these situations,
you probably will have no problem in assigning the Lewis structure directly. If this is a problem
for you, the easiest way to treat these is to assume that we have one extra valence electron to
begin with and remove that electron at the end. In this case, it means drawing the Lewis diagram
for NO2-. For NO2- the answer to question 1 is 18 valence electrons and the answer to 3 become 6
electrons, or 3 bonds.
We draw one N-O single bond and one N=O double bond in order to achieve the correct number
of bonds.
For NO2- there will be 12 electrons left to make into nonbonding pairs that can be assigned as
shown in the picture below. This will give octets at each atom. To derive the Lewis structure for
NO2, the neutral molecule, we must then remove one electron from NO2-. The choice preferred is
to remove the electron from the lone pair that resides on the least electronegative atom. Since N
is less electronegative than O, we will take the electron from the N lone pair.

The Lewis diagram for NO2 is consistent with its reaction chemistry. NO2 undergoes a
dimerization (two molecules joining to form one) which gives N2O4. The structure of N2O4 is
simple two NO2 molecules joined to form an N-N bond by pairing the odd electrons.

Molecules with expanded valence shells: Hypervalent compounds occur for central
atoms beyond period 2. Such atoms often have more than their octet. Examples are phosphorus
trichloride, chlorine trifluoride and xenon difluoride:
Chlorine in its ground
state has only one
unpaird electron. In
order to form the
three required bonds
valence bond theory
requires the
promotion of an
electron to an empty
d-obital to form the valence state shown. While it is customary to invoke a valence state using
some d-orbitals to rationalize the bonding there is an alternative approach which is best described
using molecular orbital theory.
Lewis Structure of SF6
i) Count total valence electrons:6 + 6 x 7 = 48 (24 pairs)
ii) S is the central atomsulfur already have excess of 4 electrons to octet
iii) fill octet to Fs
iv) count electrons:
S - 6 bond pairs = 6
6F - 3 x 6 lone pairs = 18
24 pairs

Sulfur violates octet rule, is an exception to octet rule having more than eight electrons on
S. S has 12 electrons.
Lewis Structure of PCl5
i) Count the total valence lectrons: 5 + 5 x 7 = 40 (20 pairs)
ii) P is central atom:
iii) P already have 5 electron pairs then give octets to Cls
iv) count electron pairs.
5 pairs on P = 5
5 x 3 pairs on Cl = 15
20 electron pairs
AsCl5 have similar structure. PCl5 and AsCl5 violates octet rule having 10 electrons on P and As.
Resonance Structures
There are a number of compounds and polyatomic ions that cannot be written using one single
structure. This was known even back to the early beginnings of structural chemistry in the
mid-1850s. These substances must be described in terms of "intermediate" structures, possessing
non-integral bonds such as one and one-half bonds or one and one-third bonds.
For example, certain molecules it is necessary to draw several Lewis structures (resonance
structures) to adequately describe the structures of the molecules: Examples are CO32-, NO3-,
NO2-
Resonance Lewis Structures of CO32-:

i) valence electrons:4 + 3 x 6 + 2(negative charge) = 24 (12 pairs)

ii) central atom is carbon

iii) fill octet to C; fill octet to O

One oxygen does not have an octet. Share lone pair on C with the oxygens. The double
bond could be on any other
oxygen atoms.

Therefore, there are three resonance structures for CO32-ion

Resonance Lewis Structures of NO3-:
i) valence electrons:
5 + 3 x 6 + 1(negative charge) = 24 (12 pairs)
iii) N is the central atom:
 iii) Fill octet to N; Fill octet to Os

one oxygen has only 6 electrons

share lone pair on N with the oxygen
The double bond could be on any other oxygen atoms. Therefore, there are three
resonance structures for the
NO3- ion.

Resonance Lewis Structure of NO2-

i) valence electrons:
5 + 2 x 6 + 1(negative charge) = 18 (9 pairs)
ii) central atom is nitrogen.
iii) Fill octet to N ; Fill octet to O
one oxygen has only six electrons
share lone pair on N with oxygen.
The double bond could be on any of the two oxygen atoms. Therefore, there are two
resonance structures for NO2- ion.

Resonance Lewis Structure of PO43-

Resonance structures of Benzene Ring

Any compound with the benzene ring is an aromatic compound. Since the benzene ring looks
very much like a triene (alkene with three double bonds), it should be expected that its properties
would be like one, but it is not. It does not undergo the addition reactions that alkenes do, and it
is unusually stable to oxidizing agents. The reason why is because the benzene ring is a
resonance structure. When one Lewis Structure fails to explain the bonding and properties of
molecule have to draw more sturctures..

3.2 Structure and bond

properties
3.3 The VSEPR model
Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion is a simple but effective model for predicting molecular
geometry. VSEPR assumes a molecule adopts the geometry that min- imizes the repulsive
force among a given number of electron pairs.
Applying VSEPR
Draw the Lewis structure of the molecule.
Count the number of electron pairs around the central atom. Multiple bonds count
as one electron pair.
The arrangement of electron pairs that min- imizes repulsion is called the electron-pair geometry.
The arrangement of atoms is called the molecular geometry.
Electron-Pair Geometries
Basic Geometry. Once a Lewis structure of a molecule has been constructed, a basic geometry
can be inferred for each non-terminal atom in a molecule by counting the number of objects
surrounding it. An "object" is a lone-pair or a bonded atom (regardless of the bond order - single,
double, triple or fractional).
Objects 2 3 4 5 6 7

Trigonal Trigonal Pentagonal

Geometry Linear Tetrahedral Octahedral
planar bipyramid bipyramid
Refinements to molecular geometry. The details of the predicted geometry can be further
refined by considering what the objects are more carefully. Is another atom bound by a single
bond or higher bond order? Is the bond polar? What about the difference between a lone pair and
a bond pair? The table below shows how these questions and others can be answered.

lone pair- lone pair > lone pair-bond pair > bond pair-bond pair
Lone Pairs
Multiple or shorter bonds
Largest Repulsion
or bonds polarized towards
the centre atom

Medium Repulsion Normal single bonds

Longer single bonds and

Smallest
bonds polarized away from
Repulsion
the central atom

Polarity of Molecules

The "charge distribution" of a molecule is determined by

The shape of the molecule
The polarity of its bonds
A Polar Molecule:

 The center of the overall negative charge on the molecule does not coincide with the
center of overall positive charge on the molecule
 The molecule can be oriented such that one end has a net negative charge and the other a
net positive charge, i.e. the molecule is a dipole

A Nonpolar molecule

 Has no charges on the opposite ends of the molecule

 Or, has charges of the same sign on the opposite ends of the molecule
 Molecule is not a dipole

Any diatomic molecule with a polar bond is a polar molecule (dipole)

Polar molecules align themselves:

 in an electric field
 with respect to one another
 with respect to ions

The degree of polarity of a molecule is described by its dipole moment, = Q * r

where

 Q equals the charge on either end of the dipole

 r is the distance between the charges

the greater the distance or the higher the charge, the greater the magnitude of the dipole

Dipole moments are generally reported in Debye units

1 debye = 3.33 x 10-30 coulomb meters (C m)

Example: H-Cl a covalent polar compound

 The H-Cl bond distance is 1.27Å

 +1 and -1 charges in a dipole produce 1.60 x 10-19 C

 = Qr = (1.60 x 10-19 C)(1.27 x 10-10 m)

 = 2.03 x 10-29 C m
 = 2.03 x 10 C m (1 debye/3.33 x 10-30) = 6.10 debye
-29

The actual dipole of H-Cl is 1.08 debye. The reason for this is that the compound is covalent and
not ionic, thus the charges of the dipole are less that +1, and -1 (values expected for a fully ionic
compound)
 Bond Electronegativity Dipole
Compound
Length (Å) Difference Moment (D)
HF 0.92 1.9 1.82
HCl 1.27 0.9 1.08
HBr 1.41 0.7 0.82
HI 1.61 0.4 0.44

Although the bond length is increasing, the dipole is decreasing as you move down the halogen
group. The electronegativity decreases as we move down the group. Thus, the greater influence
is the electronegativity of the two atoms (which influences the charge at the ends of the dipole).

The Polarity of Polyatomic Molecules

 Each polar bond in a polyatomic molecule will have an associated dipole

 The overall dipole of the molecule will be the sum of the individual dipoles

 Although in carbon dioxide the oxygens have a partial negative charge and the carbon a
partial positive charge, the molecule has no dipole - it will not orient in an electrical field
 Water has a dipole and will orient in an electrical field

Although a polar bond is a prerequisite for a molecule to have a dipole, not all molecules with
polar bonds exhibit dipoles

ABn molecules and non-polar geometries

For ABn molecules, where the central atom A is surrounded by identical atoms for B, there a
certain molecular geometries which result in no effective dipole, regardless of how polar the
individual bonds may be. These geometries are:
Valence-bond theory
Valence Bond Theory: Assumes that covalent bonds are formed when atomic orbitals (with
electrons) on different atoms overlap and the electrons are shared. The atomic orbitals can be the
original atomic orbitals of the atoms, but often the geometry of these orbitals is such that
effective overlap cannot occur in the known geometry of the molecule. Under these
circumstances, the atomic orbitals on an atom can reconfigure themselves into a different
configuration, and the reconfigured orbitals are said to be hybridized. This theory is similar to
molecular orbital theory which is concerned with the formation of covalent bonds. The difffrence
being molecular orbitals are formed by empty atomic orbitals and later electrons are filled ino
them.
The Valence Electrons and Valence Shell OrbitalsThe valence shell orbitals of an atom are
taken to be the ns, np and nd orbitals where n is the number of the period of the element. The
valence electrons are the electrons contained in these orbitals.

 Filled (n-1)d orbitals are considered part of the core of electrons which do not contribute to
bonding.
Regardless of what you might expect from the filling order, only the nd orbitals are used (if
necessary) to form an excited valence state because the (n+1)s orbital is spherical and therefore
not very useful for forming directed hybrids.
Hybridization of atomic orbitals
Orbital hybridization was proposed in the 1930's to explain the geometry of polyatomic
molecules. Covalent bonding was presumed to arise due to the overlap of atomic orbitals and the
sharing of electron pairs. However, the known geometries of even simple covalent molecules
like methane could not be correctly predicted by the Wave Mechanical Model, and the theory
needed modification. Linus Pauling in 1931 showed mathematically that an s orbital and three p
orbitals can combine (or hybridize) to form four equivalent atomic orbitals called sp3
hybrids. The rationale was that by expending energy to "reshuffle" electrons away from their
normal atomic orbitals into hybridized orbitals prior to bonding, bonding could occur at less
hindered angles. This allowed more effective orbital overlaps, better separation of bonding
electron pairs, and produced more stable molecules.
The method of handling this in valence bond theory is via the mixing of the basic atomic orbitals
mathematically to form hybrid orbitals pointing in the required directions. This mixing is
achieved mathematically by taking linear combinations of the atomic orbitals as indicated below:

Linear sp hybrids. These are composed of the valence shell s-orbital and one of the three p-
orbitals. The other two p-orbitals remain unhybridized and may hold lone pairs or participate in
-bonding. The two equivalent sp hybrid orbitals pointat 180o to each other and their formation
is depicted graphically and mathematically below:
The diagram below shows the 2s and 2px orbitals superimposed in the same space before
hybridization. The colours represent the relative signs of . The signs/colors for the 2p orbital
would be reversed by the negative sign in first equation which follows the diagram:

1 = 1/2s - 1/2p
2 = 1/2s + 1/2p

The hybrids corresponding to two the equations above are shown separately for clarity below.
Where the blue outer part of the 2s orbital combines with the red part of the 2p orbital there is
destructive interference and only the little red knob is left. Where both orbitals are blue the main
part of the hybrid is formed. Remember, the negative sign in the first equation causes the
signs/colours of the p-orbital to be reversed and the hybrid on the left results. The other results
from the second equation:
Two bonds could then be formed by overlap with each of the two sp-hybrid orbitals. The two
unaffected p orbitals are still present, located perpendicular to each other and perpendicular to
the line of the sp-hybrid orbitals. These p orbitals were available for sideways overlap to form
two pi bonds, as in acetylene (or ethyne) shown below. In the case of acetylene, both carbons in
the carbon-carbon triple bond are sp- hybridized.
Linear sp Hybridization

Acetylene or ethyne C2H2

 bonds
 bonds

Trigonal sp2 hybrids. These are composed of the valence shell s-orbital and two of the p-
orbitals, say the px and py to produce a set of hybrids directed in the xy plane at 120o to
eachother. The pz orbital will be left to hold a lone pair or participate in -bonding. The diagram
below shows the 2s, 2px and 2py orbitals superimposed in the same space before hybridization.
They are combined to form the hybrids according to the equations which follow the diagram:

1 = 1/3s + 1/6px + 1/2py

2 = 1/3s + 1/6px - 1/2py
3 = 1/3s - 2/6px

Below, the hybrids corresponding to the three equations above are shown separately (in order
from top to bottom):
In the diagrams below, the trio of hybrids are superimposed in the same space as they should be.
Two diagrams are shown: On the left the antinodes are shown transparent. The small knob of
each hybrid is buried deeply. The right hand diagram shows the equivalent hybrid enclosure
surfaces and hides the internal structure. Note the "three-fold" symmetry:
sp2 hybridization was postulated for the possibility of an s orbital hybridizing with two p orbitals:

Three bonds could then be formed by overlap with each of the three sp2-hybrid orbitals. The
unaffected p orbital is perpendicular to the plane of the three sp2-hybrid orbitals, available for
sideways overlap to form a pi bond, or, in molecules like boron trifluoride (shown below), the p
orbital is left empty.
Ethylene or ethyene C2H4
 bonds
 bonds

Tetrahedral sp3 hybrids. These are composed of the valence shell s-orbital and all three p-
orbitals. The diagram below shows these superimposed in the same space before hybridization.
They are combined according to the equations which appear below the diagram:

1 = 1/4s + 1/4px + 1/4py + 1/4pz

2 = 1/4s - 1/4px - 1/4py + 1/4pz
3 = 1/4s + 1/4px - 1/4py - 1/4pz
4 = 1/4s - 1/4px + 1/4py -1/4pz

Below, the hybrids corresponding to the four equations above are shown separately (in order, left
to right and top to bottom):
In the diagrams below, the quartet of hybrids are superimposed in the same space as they should
be. Two diagrams are shown: On the left the antinodes are shown transparent. Again, the small
knob of each hybrid is buried deeply. The right hand diagram shows the equivalent hybrid
enclosure surfaces and hides the internal structure. Note the tetrahedral symmetry of the group:
Notes on the equations: Each component atomic orbital must be "shared out" completely
between the hybrids which leads to the condition that the sum of the squares of the coefficients
for a particular atomic orbital add to one. In additon, individual hybrid orbitals must be
"normalized", that is, the probability of an electron occupying one of them somewhere must be 1.
This leads to the condition that the sum of the squares of the coefficients in one of the formulae
must also add to 1.

In order to produce angles which differ from the ideal values, the equations are modified.
Increasing the ratio of p to s character in any subset will decrease the appropriate inter-hybrid
angles.
These sp3-hybridized orbitals were centered about the nucleus, pointing toward the corners of a
regular tetrahedron.

Four bonds could then be formed by overlap with each of the four sp3-hybrid orbitals. The
resulting molecule would have a tetrahedal shape around this sp3-hybridized atom. This fit the
known geometry and bond characteristics of methane (shown below).
 Trigonal bipyramidal sp3d hybrids. These are composed of the valence s-orbital, all the p-
orbitals and one of the d-orbitals (normally, the dz2 or one of the two in the xy plane i.e. dxy or
dx2-y2). The choice depends on the atoms involved so it is not possible to write down a unique set
of equations like those above.) The remaining d-orbitals could be involved in -bonding.
sp3d hybrids in PF5

Octahedral sp3d2 hybrids. These are composed of the valence s-orbital, the three p-orbitals and
two d-orbitals (normally the dz2 and one of the two in the xy plane.) The remaining d-orbitals can
participate in -bonding.
sp3d2 hybrids in SF6
 Linear Molecular Geometry

AX2 AX2E3
3
Central atom sp hybridized Central atom sp d hybridized
HCN, CO2 I3-
Hydridization in CO2
bonds

 bonds
 Trigonal Planar Molecular Geometry

AX3
AX3
Central atom sp2 hybridized
Central atom sp2 hybridized
NO3-

Bent Molecular Geometry

AX2E1 AX2E2
Central atom sp2 hybridized Central atom sp3 hybridized
NO2- H2O

Tetrahedral Molecular Geometry

AX4 AX4
3 3
Central atom sp hybridized Central atom sp hybridized
single bonds double bonds
CH4 ClO4-

Trigonal Pyramidal

AX3E1 AX3E1
3 3
Central atom sp hybridized Central atom sp hybridized
single bonds single and double bonds
NH3 ClFO2

Trigonal Bipyramidal Molecular Geometry

AX5 AX5
 Central atom sp3d hybridized Central atom sp3d hybridized
single bonds only Single and double bonds
PCl5 ClO2F3

Seesaw Molecular Geometry

AX4E1
AX4E1
Central atom sp3d hybridized
Central atom sp3d hybridized
One Lone Pair in an equatorial hybrid
One Lone Pair in an equatorial hybrid
IO2F2-

Central atom sp3 hybridized

Doen met eers hibridisasie en dan die mol geometrie

Molecular Geometry Hybridization

Linear AX2 sp, or AX2E3 sp3d

3.5 Homonuclear diatomic molecules

3.4 The hydrogen molecule
A bond between two atoms is formed when a pair of electrons is shared by two overlapping
orbitals, according to the VB theory. For example, in a hydrogen molecule, the two 1s orbitals
from
each H atoms overlap and share electrons.

3.6 Polyatomic molecules

In all of the examples given above used as examples for Lewis structures, it was implied that the
bonds were formed from two of the basic atomic orbitals. For example, the bonding in ammonia
was shown as involving three (mutually perpendicular) 2p orbitals on nitrogen and the 1s orbitals
of each hydrogen. (For any one of the bonds A could be a 2p orbital and B a 1s orbital in the
valence bond theory notes mentioned above.) This simple treatment is clearly not adequate
because it predicts a H­N­H bond angles of 90o: the observed angle is 107o.

The method of handling this in valence bond theory is via the mixing of the basic atomic orbitals
mathematically to form hybrid orbitals pointing in the required directions. This mixing is
achieved mathematically by taking linear combinations of the atomic orbitals as indicated below:
The examples given above are set out again using one more step to include geometry and thus
the hybridization of the central atom. Where appropriate the mechanism for -bonding is
indicated. Comments on distortions from ideal angles are added.
Ammonia - NH3

The nitrogen is bound to

three hydrogen atoms. In
addition, there is a lone-
pair on N, therefore 4-
coordination i.e.
tetrahedral geometry
(with sp3 hybrids) is
predicted. (The molecule
is sometimes refered to as pyramidal if the lone-pair is not considered part of the geometry.)

The lone-pair demands more space than the bond pairs so that the H-N-H angles will be less
than the ideal 109.5o. The actual experimental value is 107.3o.

The appropriate hybridization is sp3 (but with the lone pair in a hybrid orbital having somewhat
greater s character than the other three which are used for the bonds, and which, correspondingly,
have slightly higher p character.)

Some related molecules are NF3 with a bond angle of 102.5o and PH3 with a bond angle of
93.5o. This latter molecule uses nearly pure 3p orbitals to bind the hydrogens and a nearly pure
3s orbital to house the lone pair. This optimizes the overlap with the H 1s orbitals. Other
isoelectronic/isostructural molecule/ions are H3O+ and CH3-.
Methane - CH4

With four hydrogens

bound to carbon and no
lone pairs, the structure is
predicted to be
tetrahedral, and the
appropriate hybridization
would be sp3.

Some isostructural
molecule/ions are BF4- and NH4+.
Nitrosyl Chloride -
NOCl

The nitrogen has three

"things" attached: the
lone pair, the chlorine and
the oxygen . N.B. The
oxygen only counts as
one "thing" despite the
double bond.) Therefore, the shape is based on trigonal, and disregarding the lone pair, might be
called bent or angular. Like COCl2, the appropriate hybridization, sp2 leaves one 2p orbital on
nitrogen to form the  bond. This is depicted in the lower diagram on the right.

The hybrid orbitals would all be inequivalent in such a way as to reduce the Cl-N=O angle to
make room for the lone-pair and to allow for the differences between bonding orbital sizes on Cl
and O.
Nitrate - NO3-

The predicted geometry is trigonal

because there are three oxygens
bound to nitrogen, and no lone-
pairs. The appropriate hybridization
is sp2. The single Lewis structure
drawn shows the unhybridized p-
orbital of nitrogen interacting with
a p-orbital on oxygen to form the -
bond. Molecular orbital theory, see below, treats this situation differently to avoid the need to
draw three canonical structures to account for the observed geometry where all angles are 120o
and the bond lengths are identical.
Boron trichoride - BCl3

The approprite hybridization is sp2 since

the boron is attached to three "things". In
certain cases (for example BF3), -
bonding using the empty boron p-orbital
can be invoked. To do this, an electron
must be moved from the more
electronegative terminal atom to boron.
This runs contrary to what one expects
from the electronegativities so the exact extent to which this occurs is the subject of some
controversy.

Chlorine Trifluoride - ClF3

Because the chlorine carries the three fluorines and two lone pairs, the geometry will be trigonal
bipyramidal and the hybridization will be sp3d. Three isomers are possible.

It is highly unfavorable for the lone pairs to be 90o apart which rules one of the three. In order to
rationalize the obervation that the isomer with both lone pairs in equatorial positions is the
observed form, it is necessary to count the number of 90o bond pair - lone pair interactions. The
observed isomer (in the box) has four such angles and the isomer with the lone pairs in axial
positions has six which is (presumably) less favorable. The molecule might be called T-shaped
based on the atomic positions only. The appropriate hybridization would be sp3d where the d
orbital will have a greater contribution to the axial hybrids than the equatorial ones.

A few more examples are:

Iodine pentafluoride - IF5

The five unpaired electrons needed on iodine to bind the fluorines can only be obtained (in the
valence bond approximation) by invoking the use of the 5d orbitals. After the bonding with
fluorine, the iodine is left with one lone pair, so there are six "things" in all. The geometry will
be based on an octahedron, and might be referred to as (square) pyramidal if the lone pair is not
counted. The F-I-F angles (basal to apical) will be less than 90o due to the steric influence of the
lone pair.

The appropriate hybridization would be sp3d2. By using a molecular orbital approach involving
3-centre 4-electron bonds the use of the d-orbital in understanding the bonding can be avoided,
but the predictive value of the valence bond VSEPR approach would be lost.

Some isolectronic/isostructural species are: TeCl5- and XeF5+.

Carbonyl Chloride (Phosgene) - COCl2

The two chlorines and

the oxygen require four
unpaired electrons for
bonding on the carbon, ie
the usual tetravalent
excited state. Since there
are three "things" on the
carbon the predicted
shape is trigonal, and the
appropriate hybridization is sp2. This leaves one unhybridized 2p-orbital on the carbon, and
another on the oxygen, to form the  component of the double bond.

It is difficult to predict distortions from the ideal angles because on the one hand the chlorines
are larger than the oxygen which would tend to widen the Cl-C-Cl angle, but on the other hamd
there is a double bond involving the oxygen which would tend to widen the Cl-C=O angles.

Thionyl Chloride - SOC l2

Unless a canonical structure with charge separation (S+ and O-) is constructed, the sulphur must
form four bonds, one to each of the chlorines and the double bond to oxygen. It is necessary to
invoke a valence state using one of the 3d orbitals to do this. Sulphur is attached to four "things":
the lone pair, two chlorines and the oxygen, so the shape is based on the tetrahedral geometry,
and the structure might be called pyramidal if the lone pair is disregarded.

The hybridization on sulphur for the sigma bonds is sp3, which leaves the d electron available to
form the  bond by overlap with one of the oxygen 2p orbitals. This is depicted in the lower
diagram on the right. (For clarity, the lone pair is not shown in this diagram.)
Sulphate - SO42-

If the negative charge on the ion is

distributed on two of the oxygen
atoms there are six unpaired electrons
needed on the sulphur. Promotion of
two electrons to the 3d orbitals
achieves this. The four oxygens
attached to sulphur cause it to adopt a
tetrahedral geometry. The appropriate
hybridization to account for the 
bonds is sp3, leaving the two d
orbitals for use forming the  bonds.
In a full molecular orbital calculation,
if the d orbitals really played a part, they would also be hybridized to point in the appropriate
directions. The situation is too complicated to attempt to draw meaningful diagrams.

The canonical structures shown at the left correspond to the bonding model described above. It
is possible to conceive of other canonical forms where three or four of the oxygen atoms carry a
negative charge and the sulphur one or two positive charges. The second of these canonical
forms would not require d-orbital involvement.
Transition Metal Complexes

It uses "outer orbital" and "inner orbital" hybridization to explain the formation of
compounds.
Outer orbital hybridization (also called high spin) see the and orbitals, so only

the , , and orbitals are available.

The figure above illustrates inner orbital hybridization (also called low spin).
The Isolobal Analogy
Extension of Valence Bond and Mo;ecualr Orbital theory to Complex Molecules:
Introduction
Different groups of atoms can give rise to similar shaped fragments. For example,
the C-H group and the P atom have 5 electrons and can contribute 3 electrons to a cluster,
C-H has 4+1 electrons and uses 2 electrons for the C-H bond
P has 5 electrons and uses 2 electrons for a lone pair

Both fragments are 3 electrons short of making maximum use of their 4 valence orbitals (s and
3 p) by achieving an octet. The clusters C4H4 or (CH)4 (known as tetrahedrane) and P4 have the
same number of cluster electrons and therefore adopt the same shape:

The organometallic fragment Co(CO)3 has 15 electrons:

Co has 9 valence electrons and each CO donates 2e to the metal

The fragment is 3 electrons short of the stable electron count for an organometallic fragment of
eighteen Eighteen electrons corresponds to making maximum use of the 9 valence orbitals of the
transition metal (s + 3 p and 5 d). It can achieve 18 electrons by sharing 3 electrons to make 3
covalent bonds. The Co(CO)3 fragment thus has the same requirements as the C-H unit and the P
atom. The cluster [Co(CO)3]4 thus also has the same tetrahedral shape as that shown by C4H4 and
P4. It is also possible to swap the three fragments around:

B and C are more conventionally thought of as (3-P)[CoCO)3]3 and (3-C3H3)Co(CO)3

respectively but this hides the structural and electronic links between all these clusters.
The similarity between these fragments and between other groups of fragments has been
investigated in detail by Roald Hoffmann. Fragments are deemed to be isolobal if

"the number, symmetry properties, approximate energy and shape of the frontier orbitals and the
number of electrons in them are similar"
(R. Hoffmann, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl., 21, 711, 1982)

The isolobal relationship is symbolized by a double-headed arrow with a tear-drop,

The isolobal analogy relates the orbitals and bonding in inorganic, organometallic and cluster
chemistry to that in organic and main group chemistry. The utility of the isolobal analogy is that
one should be able to replace replace a (transition metal) MLn fragment in a molecule with the
isolobal (main group) AHn fragment, and vice versa, to produce new molecules with very similar
bonding.

Generating isolobal fragments

Main group fragments can be generated by starting from methane, 1 (or any molecule obeying
the octet rule). Homolytic cleavage of a C–H bond generates the methyl radical, 1a,, which has
one frontier orbital pointing towards the missing hydrogen with one electron in it. Homolytic
cleavage of a second C–H gives methylene, 1b, which has too singly occupied hybrids pointing
towards the two vacant hydrogen positions. Removal of a third hydrogen gives methine, 1c, with
three singly occupied hybrids.

The transition metal fragments are generated in an analogous way. For example, from the
starting point of CrL6, 2, where L is a two electron donor such as CO, (or any molecule obeying
the eighteen electron rule such as 3), the fragments 2a, 2b and 2c are generated by successive
homolytic cleavage of M–L bonds on one octahedral face. As L is a two-electron donor,
homolytic cleavage of CrL6 gives CrL5– and L+. To remove the charge, the metal is then
replaced by Mn (the element one to the right in the 3d series):
Isolobal scheme

8–electron 18–electron 16–electron

1 2 3 4

1a 2a 3a 4a

1b 2b 3b 4b
 1c 2c 3c 4c

As long as the electron count is maintained or consistent changes are made, the metal or main
group element can be substituted. Thus,

CH3 Me3Sn Mn(CO)5 Fe(PPh3)5+ Mo(CO)5–

CH3+ BH3 Mn(CO)5+ Cr(CO)5 Rh(PPh3)3+

CH3– NH3 Mn(CO)5– Fe(CO)5 Rh(CO)5+

It should be noted that the main use of the isolobal analogy is in generating alternative fragments
in molecules. The geometry of the fragment in a molecule not as an isolated species is important.
Thus, CH3 and BH3 are considered as pyramidal (not planar) species and Cr(CO)5 is considered
as a square-based pyramid (not trigonal bipyramid).

Applications of Isolobility

The isolobal analogy between CH3 and d7 MnL5 implies similar bonding in the following
compounds:

The isolobal relationship of CH2, with Fe(CO)4 generates the compounds illustrated below. The
transition metal molecule has been drawn as a metallocyclopropane. A more common
description is to consider it as an ethene complexes, (2–C2H4)Fe(CO)4. The isolobal
relationship shows that cyclopropane itself can be consider as (2–C2H4)CH2.
Other known compounds generated using this relationship include:

Here are some common isolobal fragments

Molecular orbital theory

Introduction

Modern chemistry has depended upon the use of models of increasing comlexity. Atoms can be
represented as spheres connected by cyclinders or sticks. In order to understand the mechanism
of many reactions, Lewis Theory, developed by Robinson and Ingold, can provide a succesful
answer.
Lewis Theory uses curly arrows to denote electron migration during a chemical reaction and has
led to a greater understanding of the factors controlling chemical reactions.
Pauling with others, developed Resonance Theory, which provided the rationale to an all-
embracing orbital theory. The use of "canonical forms" and "resonance hybrids", alonng with
extensive use of curvy arrows has provided the fundamental background to modern organic
theory, but for eg. Diels-Alder and pericyclic reactions, the curly arrow format is not very clear
and in some instances the reactions are described as no-machanism reactions. Woodward and
Hoffmann showed that by examining the interaction of the frontier molecular orbitals (ie. the
Highest Occupied, HOMO and Lowest Unoccupied, LUMO) both the regio- and
stereospecificity could be accountred for.
Woodward and Hoffmann work was assimilated into general organic reaction theory.

3.7 An introduction to the theory of Linear Combination of Atomic Orbitals (LCOA)

A theory which treats bonding as an over lapping of ligand orbitals with those of the central
atom.
By summing the original wavefunctions for the bonding orbitals in constituent species, "hybrid"
molecular orbitals of the compound can be generated. These new orbitals have an intermediate
character between the original , , and orbitals (if available) in the outer energy level, and
produce additional bond sites. The hybridization is named on the basis of the orbitals involved,
and the hybrid wavefunction is the (renormalized) sum of the individual wavefunctions, where
each addition may be with an arbitrary sign. The composite wavefunctions with differing signs
are orthogonal, since
 (1)

But

(2)

so

(3)

The simplest example is -hybridization. There are two possible combinations,

(4)

(5)

where the wavefunctions on the right are the solutions to Schrödinger's equation, and the

normalization constants are needed so that the hybrid wavefunction is normalized. has the
electron density is greatest between the two nuclei. It will therefore bind the nuclei together, and

is called a bonding molecular orbital. has the electron density greatest on the sides of the
nuclei. It will therefore pull the nuclei apart, and is called an antibonding molecular orbital. In
some instances, a nonbonding molecular orbital may be generated for which the electron density
is uniformly distributed between and on the sides of the nuclei. A measure of the stability of a
compound based on the occupancy of its molecular orbitals is given by the body order.

More complicated bonding interactions will involve , , and orbitals. For a homonuclear
diatomic compound with hybrid orbitals constructed from , , and p orbitals, the molecular
orbital have the following form.
For heteropolar molecules or more complicated systems, the molecular orbital energy diagram
can be quite complex. The molecular orbitals for the CO2 (O1=C=O2) molecules are given by, in
order of increasing energy

There are 12 electrons in the valence shell, so the levels are filled through the nonbonding
orbitals. The compound is therefore stable, with a bond order of 4. For an even more complicated
example, consider benzene. For certain compounds, electrons are delocalized. Such compounds
have an extremely large number of molecular orbitals. The result, as the number of levels goes to
infinity, is a band of bonding orbitals, and band of antibonding orbitals (known as the conduction
band, since free electrons will exist here), possibly overlapping or possibly separated by a gap. In
metals, the levels overlap, and the bonding orbitals are completely filled. In semiconductors, the
levels are separated by a small "forbidden zone." The addition of a small amount of energy will
therefore remove an electron from the filled bonding orbital, through the forbidden zone, and
into the conduction band.

Atomic and Molecular Orbitals

By sharing electron, molecules can form bonds, and it is possible to regard the sharing of two
electrons by two atoms as constituting a chemical bond. Atoms can share one, two or three
electrons (forming single, double and triple bonds).
A hydrogen atom consists of a nucleus (a proton) and an electron. It is not possible to accurately
determine the position of the electron, but it is possible to calculate the probability of findng the
electron at any point around the nucleus. With a hydrogen atom the probability distribution is
spherical around the nucleus and it is possible to draw a spherical boundary surface, inside which
there is a 95% possibility of finding the electron. The electron has a fixed energy and a fixed
spatial distribution called an orbital. In the helium atom there are two electrons associated with
the helium nucleus. The electrons have the same spatial distribution and energy (ie. they occupy
the same orbital), but they differ in their spin (Pauli exlusion principle). In general: electrons in
atomic nuclei occupy orbitals of fixed energy and spatial distribution, and each orbital only
contains a maximum of two electrons with anti-parallel spins.
In physics, periodic phenomena are associated with a "wave equation", and in atomic theory the
relevant equation is called the "Schrödinger Equation". The wave equation predicts discrete
solutions in one dimension for a particle confined to a box with infinite walls, The solutions can
be shown as in the figure below:
1 - 4 represent solutions of increasing energy. In three dimensions, the equation determines the
energy and defines the spatial distribution of each electron. Solutions of the wave equations in
three-dimensions allows calculation of the "shape" of each orbital. The first five solutions of the
wave equation for an electron associated with a proton can be shown in the figure below:

In the hydrogen atom, the 1s atomic orbital has the lowest energy, while the remainder (2s, 2px,
2py and 2pz) are of equal energy (ie.degenerate), but for all other atoms, the 2s atomic orbital is
of lower enegry than the 2px, 2py and 2pz orbitals, which are degenerate.
In atoms, electrons occupy atomic orbitals, but in molecules they occupy similar molecular
orbitals which surround the molecule. The simplest molecule is hydrogen, which can be
considered to be made up of two seperate protons and electrons. There are two molecular orbitals
for hydrogen, the lower energy orbital has its greater electron density between the two nuclei.
This is the bonding molecular orbital - and is of lower energy than the two 1s atomic orbitals of
hydrogen atoms making this orbital more stable than two seperated atomic hydrogen orbitals.
The upper molecular orbital has a node in the electronic wave function and the electron density is
low between the two positively charged nuclei. The energy of the upper orbital is greater than
that of the 1s atomic orbital, and such an orbital is called an antibonding molecular orbital.
Normally, the two electrons in hydrogen occupy the bonding molecular orbital, with anti-parallel
spins. If molecular hydrogen is irradiated by ultra-violet (UV) light, the molecule may absorb the
energy, and promote one electron into its antibonding orbital (*), and the atoms will seperate.
The energy levels in a hydrogen molecule can be represented in a diagram - showing how the
two 1s atomic orbitals combine to form two molecular orbitals, one bonding () and one
antibonding (*). This is shown below - by clicking upon either the  or * molecular orbital in
the diagram - it will show graphically in a window to the right:
3.8 Homonuclear diatomic molecules

A diatomic hydrogen molecule fills the orbital, and so has a bond order of 1 and is stable.

A diatomic helium molecule fills both the and orbitals, so it has a bond order of zero
and is not stable.

Diatomic molecules H2 and He2

The probability plot for 22 is also shown in Figure 4. What would be its equation? (The
equivalent of equation 3) What do you notice about the electron density between the nuclei as
compared to two individual hydrogen atoms simply placed side by side?
Further insight into the bonding of HA and HB can be obtained by considering the energies of the
electrons in 1 and 2 compared to their energies in the non-interacting atoms. This can be done
by plugging the LCAO wave functions for the molecule back into the appropriate Scrödinger
equation (just as it can be done for the individual atoms using the atomic wave functions). The
results are shown in Figure 5, where 1 and 2 are sometimes renamed (1s) and *(1s),
respectively, to indicate the type of molecular orbital and their parentage.
These molecular orbitals are useful for any molecule, or molecule-ion, using only 1s orbitals for
bonding. Several possibilities are: H2+, H2, H2-, H22-, He2+ and He2. The positive molecule-ions
are unstable, but have been detected in the gas phase under high energy conditions. The negative
molecule-ions and He2 have not been observed.
Nitrogen:
This molecule has ten electrons. The atomic orbitals combine to produce the following
molecular orbital diagram:

Here the 2g orbital is occupied by two electrons to give a total bond order of three. This
corresponds well with the Lewis structure ( ), although the orbital approach tells us that
there is one  and two .
Oxygen:
This molecule has twelve electrons, two more than nitrogen - and these extra two are placed in a
pair of degenerate g orbitals. The atomic orbitals combine to produce the following molecular
orbital diagram:

Comparison of the above energy level diagram wit hthat for nitrogen - you can see that the 2g
level lies lower than u. Here, we are starting to fill the anti-bonding orbitals originating from the
p orbital interactions and so the bond order decreases from three to two.
The lowest energy arrangment (Hund's rule) - has a single electron, each with parallel spins, in
each of the gx and gy orbitals. This produces a paramagnetic molecule, with a double bond and
has two unpaired electrons.

3.9 Heteronuclear diatomic molecules

If the molecule is heteronuclear, the parent atomic orbitals will have different energy levels. The
more easily ionized (less electronegative) atom will have the atomic orbital level closer to E = 0
in the arrangement depicted below:
The bonding molecular orbital has an energy and a wave function which approximates the more
electronegative atom. The antibonding molecular orbital will have an energy and wavefunction
which resembles that of the less electronegative atom. As an example, consider the molecule
hydrogen chloride. The hydrogen 1s orbital (one electron) would be 1 and the chlorine 3p
orbital that bonds with it (one electron) will be 2. The molecular orbital  will look very much
like the chlorine 3p orbital and will end up holding both electrons, while the * orbital will look
like the original H 1s orbital and will end up empty. Thus, the molecular orbital theory correctly
represents H+Cl-. (Note that the above is a rather treatment because it ignores the possible
involvement of the 3s orbital of Cl.)
A2 Molecules
Hydrogen Fluoride:
A simple diatomic molecule is Hydrogen fluoride. There are eight valence electrons which
occupy four molecular orbitals. The two highest energy MO's are degenerate, are -type and
have no electron density associated with the hydrogen atom, ie. they are Non-Bonding Orbitals
(NBO) and in Lewis Theory are represented as two "Lone Pairs". Another important difference
between Hydrogen Fluoride and previous molecules is that the electron density is not equally
distributed about the molecule. There is a much greater electron density around the fluorine
atom. This is because fluorine is an exremely electronegative element, and in each bonding
molecular orbital, fluorine will take a greater share of the electron density.

For the energy diagram and pictorial view of the orbitals - please see below:
3.10 Bond properties in the molecular orbital formalism
Bond Lengths and Covalent Radii There are several points to be made here:
Bond lengths are derived from the sums of covalent radii. The covalent radi can be obtained in
the first instance by taking half the length of a homonuclear bond:

dCl-Cl (in Cl2) = 1.988 Å therefore rCl = 0.99 Å

dC-C (in diamond) = 1.54 Å therefore rC(single bond) = 0.77 Å
Predicted dC-Cl = rC(single bond) + rCl = 0.99 + 0.77 = 1.76 vs actual 1.77 Å
Naturally, the observed bond lengths will vary a little from compound to compound depending
on the other atoms bonded to the two participating in the bond under consderation.
The observed bond length will be a function of the bond order for example:
dNN = 1.10 Å dN=N = 1.25 Å dN-N = 1.45 Å
Double- and triple-bond radii are approximately 0.87 and 0.78 times the single-bond radius.

The single-bond covalent radius of an atom is influenced by the type of hybrids that it is using.
The more p-character in the hybrid, the larger will be the radius:

rC(sp3) = 0.77 Å rC(sp2) = 0.73 Å rC(sp) = 0.70 Å

If the electronegativity of the bound atoms differs substantially, that is the bonds have substantial
ionic character, then the bonds will be shorter than predicted by the covalent radii:
In CF4 the C-F bondlength is 1.32 Å (predicted 1.44 Å)
In SiF4 the Si-F bond length is 1.54 Å (predicted 1.81 Å)
In SiF4 some of this shortening is said to involve -bonding between empty silicon d-orbital and
filled fluorine p-orbitals.
Overlap of Orbitals
Bonding overlap. All parts of the atomic orbitals which overlap each other have the same sign
(colour). The electon density is raised in such areas of overlap by 21.2 relative to the simple
sum: 12 + 22 which leads to an attractive component to the interation between the two atom
concerned.
Antibonding overlap. All overlapping parts of the atomic orbitals have opposite signs. A node
is formed in such regions so the electron density goes to zero at the node. Such molecular
orbitals, when occupied by electrons, contribute a repulsive component to the interaction
between the two atoms concerned.
Non-bonding overlap. If there some areas of overlap where the signs are the same and others
where they are opposite, the net contribution of such a molecular orbital to the interaction
between the two atoms would be zero. For this reason such molecular orbital combinations are
not constructed.
The , and  Notation
The "bottom line" is that a -molecular orbital has no node which passes through all the nuclei
involved, a -molecular orbital has one such node, and a -molecular obrbital has two such
nodes.
Molecular orbitals of polyatomic molecules
3.11 The construction of molecular orbitals
Orbitals for selected molecules
This section illustrates pictorially molecular orbitals for several organic and inorganic molecules.
If possible - the energy level diagram is included and clicking upon the relelvant level will
generate the accompanying molecular orbital in the right-hand frame. Please choose from:
3.12 Polyatomic molecules in general
Saturated molecules
These are molecules in which all valence electrons are involved in the formation of single
bonds. There are no non-bonded lone pairs. These molecules are generally less reactive than
either electron-rich or electron-deficient species, with all occupied orbitals having relatively low
energies.

Water:
In the water molecule the highest occupied orbital, (1b1) is non-bonding and highly localized on
the oxygen atom, similar to the non-bonding orbitals of hydrogen fluoride. The next lowest
orbital (2a1) can be thought of as a non-bonding orbital, as it has a lobe pointing away from the
two hydrogens. From the lower energy bonding orbitals, it is possible to see that oxygen also
takes more than its "fair share" of the total electron density.
Ammonia:
Ammonia has two pairs of degenerate orbitals, one bonding and one antibonding, and like
hydrogen fluoride and water has a non-bonding orbital (2a1). This highest occupied orbital has a
lobe pointing away from the three hydrogens, and corresponds to a lone pair orbital localized
upon the nitrogen, whereas the three lowest energy MO's lead to the description of the three N-H
bonds of the Lewis structure. The lone pair is relatively high in energy, and is responsible for the
well known Lewis base properties of ammonia.
The next molecule in the series HF, H2O and H3N, is H4C (methane) - which was discussed
earlier - and unlike the other three molecules has no non-bonding orbitals.
Methane:
The valence molecular orbitals of methane are delocalized over the entire nuclear skeleton - that
is, it is not easy to assign any one orbital to a particular C-H bond. It is possible to see how
complex the orbital structure becomes with the increase in energy. Methane has four valence
molecular orbitals (bonding), consisting of one orbital with one nodal plane (lowest occupied)
and three degenerate (equal energy) orbitals that do have a nodal plane.
For the energy diagram and pictorial view of the orbitals - please see below:
Ethane:
The ethane molecule has fourteen valence electrons occupying seven bonding molecular
orbitals. As can be seen from the energy diagram - four of the molecular orbitals occur as
degenerate pairs. Like in methane - the molecular orbitals of ethane show increasing nodal
structure with increasing orbital energy.
For the energy diagram and pictorial view of the orbitals - please see below:
A Linear Triatomic - BeH2
The central atom is Be and the ligands are the H's.

The atomic energy levels are shown under Be and 2H in the figure above. Note the hydrogen
orbitals are shown to have a lower energy than the beryllium orbitals because the non-metal,
hydrogen, is more electronegative (harder to ionize than the metal, Be.

There are two linear combinations of the two hydrogen 1s orbitals:

1 = 1/2(1sHa + 1sHb) and 2 = 1/2(1sHa - 1sHb)

 The energy levels that these combinations might have is shown below 2H(combos).
The beryllium 2s orbital is of the correct symmetry to form combinations with 1 and the Be 2p
orbital directed along the internuclear axis (say z) is of the correct symetry to form combinations
with 2:
1 = 1/2(1 + 2sBe) and 3 = 1/2(1 - 2sBe)

2 = 1/2(2 + 2pzBe) and 4 = 1/2(2 - 2pzBe)

The beryllium 2px and 2py orbitals do not have matching symmetry ligand combinations.

 These molecular orbitals, including the localized 2px and 2py orbitals, are shown under BeH2
on the energy level diagram.
 As shown on the energy level diagram, the 4 valence electrons electrons are found in 1 and 2
molecular orbitals which are both bonding 3-centre orbitals.The bond order for one Be-H
connection will be:
B.O = ((# bonding electrons)/2)/(# of 2-centre bonds) = (4/2)/(2) = 1

An Electron Deficient Molecule witn Bridging Hydrogen - Diborane, B2H6

Diborane has the structure shown on the right. At first sight, it seems to have 8
bonds, but between the two boron atoms and the 6 hydrogen atoms, there are
only 12 electrons - enough to make only 6 "conventional" 2-centre - 2-electron bonds.

The figure below shows how this situation is handled using molecular orbital theory:
 On the left side of the diagram there is a modified valence bond diagram for the whole
molecule. The various orbitals are colour-coded to the structural diagram in the centre of the
diagram. Notice that the boron atoms are assigned sp3 hybridization based on their (predicted)
approximately tetrahedral geometry. Although molecular orbital theory could be used to describe
the bonding in the whole molecule, and without invoking hybridization in a separate step, here it
is only used for the hydrogen bridges.

 The molecular orbital energy level diagram on the right-hand side of the diagram treats only
one of the two hydrogen bridges (red or purple). The orbitals used are: one sp3 hybrid on each
boron and the bridging hydrogen's 1s orbital. There are 2 electrons assigned to this system.

 The boron atoms are considered to be ligating hydrogen, so their orbitals are first combined to
give two linear combinations:
1 = 1/2(sp3Ba + sp3Bb) and 2 = 1/2(sp3Ba - sp3Bb)

The hydrogen 1s orbital can be combined with 1 yielding a bonding and an antibonding
combination. The other ligand combination, 2 is not used.
 = 1/2(1 + 1sH) and  = 1/2(1 - 1sH)

 The two electrons end up in the  orbital delocalized over the entire bridge, i.e. contributing to
2 connections, so the bond order in any one of the B-Hbridging bonds is ½. (The B-Hterminal
bonds are "normal" 2-electron - 2-centre Lewis bonds.)
Phosphorus Pentachloride - Without Using Those 3d Orbitals!
In pure valence bond theory, the bonding in PF5 requires the use of the 3d orbitals of phosphorus
to allow the creation of 5 normal 2-centre - 2-electron bonds. It is possible to avoid this strategy
(which has been challenged as unrealistic) by using three-centre bonding described by molecular
orbital theory. Valence bond theory accounts for the bonding of the fluorines in equatorial sites
by employing sp2 hybrids on phosphorus. The axial system only is described by molecular
orbital theory. The diagram below sets up the situation:

The 2p orbitals oriented along the molecular axis on the two fluorines are first combined:

1 = 1/2(2pFa + 2pFb) and 2 = 1/2(2pFa - 2pFb)

The diagram below shows the combinations graphically.
 The 3p orbital of phosphorus (remaining unhybridized) can be combined with the ligand
combination 1 to yeld a bonding and and antibonding combination. The ligand combination, 2,
remains unused in this simplified treatment.
 = 1/2(1 + 3pP) and  = 1/2(1 - 3pP)
The diagram below show these combinations graphically.

The diagram below shows the energy levels in the axial orbital system only. There are two
electrons in the bonding orbital () which leads to a bond order of ½ in each phosphorus -
fluorine "connection", since the two non-bonding electrons (in 2) do not contribute. Therefore,
the axial bonds are expected to be weaker than the equatorial bonds. This is supported by the
experimental evidence.
3.13 Molecular shape in terms of molecular orbitals
The Delocalized Approach to Bonding: Molecular Orbital Theory
In molecular orbital theory, molecular orbital wavefunctions are constructed by taking linear
combinations of atomic orbitals. If there are only two atoms involved, this means the sum and
the difference of the atomic orbital wavefunctions. If there are more than two atoms involved,
the combinations are formed in a more complicated way, and usually the symmetry properties of
the molecular or molecular ion are used to simplify the problem. (Of course, this does not
simplify much if the mathematical theory which covers symmetry (group theory) has not been
covered!) The first part deals with diatomic species. This is followed by several more
complicated sample systems.

Molecules and Ions with double bonds

In molecules where the number of bonding electron pairs exceeds the number of unions between
atoms, the extra electrons occupy higher energy molecular orbitals than the orbitals found in
molecules where the number of bonding electron pairs equals the number of unions between
atoms. These are double bonds, and the orbitals have a nodal plane containig the atoms sharing
these -type orbitals.
Ethene:
The simplest alkene is ethene. Its chemistry is dominated by two "frontier orbitals", that is the
Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital (HOMO) and the Lowest Unoccupied Molecular Orbital
(LUMO). For the ethene orbital energy diagram these are shown as CC for the HOMO, and *CC
for the LUMO.
An important property of the ethene molecule, and alkenes in general is the existence of a high
barrier to rotation about the C=C which tends to hold the molecule flat.
For the energy diagram and pictorial view of the orbitals - please see below:
Molecules with triple bonds
Ethyne:
For the energy diagram and pictorial view of the orbitals - please see below:
A Trigonal-planar molecule/ion - CO32- (or NO3- or BF3 which are isoelectronic)

This is a case where the -bonding

is usually handled with valence
bond theory. If the three-fold axis
of the molecule/ion is considered
the z axis, the -bond framework
involves hybridizing the carbon 2s
2px and 2py orbitals (sp2) and using
them to attach the oxygens by a 2p
orbital lying in the molcular plane. This accounts for 6 of the valence electrons.

The -bonding molecular orbitals are formed from the carbon and three oxygen 2pz orbitals and
there will be six more electrons to accomodate.

Therefore:

 The central atom is carbon and the ligands are oxygen.

 The atomic orbitals used for the -bonding system only are shown under C and 2O¯, O
in the energy level diagram below (f). The oxygen p-orbitals lie at a lower energy than those of
carbon because oxygen is more electronegative.The three oxygen 2pz orbitals must form three
linear combinations:
1 = 1/32pzOa + 1/32pzOb + 1/32pzOc
2 = 1/22pzOb - 1/22pzOc (no contribution from OA)
3 = 2pzOa - 1/62pzOb - 1/62pzOc

 The energy level that these combinations would have is shown below 2O¯, O (combos)
in the figure below.
 The carbon 2pz orbital is of the correct symmetry to combine with 1.
1 = 1/2(1 + 2pzC) and 4 = 1/2(1 - 2pzC)
This is the only combination involving the carbon so 2 and 3 remain non-bonding relabelled
as 2 and 3.
The resulting molecular orbitals are shown under CO32- on the energy level diagram below.

The 6 electrons occupy 1, 2 and 3 as shown in the energy level diagram. The only bonding -
orbital, 1 contains 2 electrons spread over 4 centres involved in 3 C-O connections. The non-
bonding 2 and 3 orbitals have no contribution. Therefore, the bond order for each carbon -
oxygen connection is 1/3. Do not forget the -bonds which were not included in this scheme.

Conjugated and aromatic molecules

 bonds in close proximity will often interact. Some of the delocalized molecular orbitals that
result will be stabilized, while others will be destabilized. The individual combinations may be
polarized, providing an increase in wave function amplitude on some centers at the expense of a
decrease in amplitude on others. This gives rise to the possibility of more varied reactivity
patterns than are observed for simple alkenes.
Aromatic molecules exhibit a wide range of reactivity patterns toward both electron rich and
electron deficient species. These mainly depend on the structures and energies of the frontier -
type molecular orbitals, the HOMO and LUMO. Except for non-bonded lone pairs, the 
framework plays little role in the overall reactivity.

trans-1,3-Butadiene:
The energies of the -molecular orbitals of conjugated molecules like butadiene, (see below) -
occur in pairs, with their energies equal to (±x), where  and  are constants. For each
bonding orbital of and energy -x there is a corresponding antibonding orbital of energy +x.
The -molecular orbitals are extended over the whole molecule.
For butadiene, the  manifold contains four electrons, leading to an electronic configuration of
1222.
For the energy diagram and pictorial view of the -molecular orbitals - please see below:
Allyl radical

The radicals allyl:

and pentadienyl:

have the same arrangement of -orbitals, (ie. the occur in pairs of energy ±x), but because
there is an odd number of carbon atoms in the conjugate chain, there must be a non-bonding
orbital with energy x=0. Also, because of the pairing properties of the -molecular orbitals of
conjugated chains, there will be a node at every alternate carbon atom in the non-bonding orbital.
This is important for the unpaired electron of allyl, which will occupy this non-bonding orbital.
If an electron is added to the allyl radical to form the anion, the negative charge will appear at the
terminal carbon atoms. If the unpaired electron is removed forming the cation, the resulting
positive charge is also spread over the termial carbon atoms.
There are three -molecular orbitals for allyl, the 1 is bonding, the 2 orbital is non-bonding and
the 3 is anti-bonding. In the neutral allyl species - there are a total of seventeen valence
electrons - of which three fill the -orbital manifold. A pictorial representation of the energy
diagram for the neutral, cationic and anionic allyl species are shown below - (orbitals are shown
only for the cationic species):
In the pentadienyl anion, the negative charge is centred on the carbon atoms in the 1,3 and 5
position - similarly with the positive charge for the cation.

These ions are represented in resonance theory as two or three canonical forms:

The delocalisation of -electrons is associated with a lowering of the orbital energy. Therefore
the total energy of the occupied -orbitals of butadiene is lower in energy then two isolated
ethene-type double bonds.
Aromatic Molecules
Further delocalisation of -electrons occurs in aromatic hydrocarbons. A figure showing the
comparative energy levels of the -orbitals of the cyclic molecules CnHn, for n=3-6, is shown
below:Aromatic molecules including the prototype molcule, benzene C6H6, are also usually
considered by separating the -bonded system from the -system:

a. In all cases, the carbon atoms are presumed to be sp2 hydbridized. This leaves one
electron in each of the hybrids so each carbon is bonded to its neighbours using two of
these hybrid orbitals, and to its hydrogen by the third.
 b. The remaining 2p-orbital on each carbon lies perpendicular to the plane of the ring and
will contribute to linear combinations resulting in the -molecular orbitals. If there are n
carbon atoms, then there must be n -orbitals formed.
c. The -molecular orbitals will contain n electrons minus the charge. For example, for
C5H5 there will be 6 electrons in the -orbitals.
d. For the simpler ring systems, it is possible to deduce the relative energy levels of the -
molecular orbitals by a simple "trick" (which comes from something called Hückel
theory - the method of forming the linear combinations, which is beyond th escope of this
course). Look at the left-hand side of the diagrams below:
e. Draw the polygonal ring "standing" straight up on a single carbon vertex at the bottom.
The other corners will be in pairs at the same levels, except perhaps the top one. (See the
diagrams below.)
f. Sketch horizontal lines from the corners; one corner goes with one level. The lowest level
will always be single, intermediate ones will always be in pairs. At the top, there will be
one level for even numbers of carbon atoms or two for odd numbers.
g. There will be enough electrons to fill the bonding levels, which are all those below the
centre of the polygon. This will automatically lead to 4m + 2 electrons, where m = 0, 1, 2
..., which is the rule for aromaticity.

On the right-hand side, the diagrams indicate how the orbitals would look if they are "occupied".
Once again, the creation of the linear combinations is beyond th escope of Chem 241, but the
results have the following features:
Note that there is always the node in the plane of the ring (shown as a green polygon) which
defines them as -orbitals. This node contains the carbon nuclei. In addition, the orbitals above
the lowest have increasing numbers of nodes perpendicular to the rings. In the case of the
degenerate pairs, there are the same number of nodes, but they lie 90o, 45o, 30o etc. apart as you
go up. (The highest orbital, for systems with an even number of carbon atoms, is like the original
set of p-orbitals with, with alternating phases as you go round the ring.)
In all cyclic polyenes (CnHn), the -molecular orbitals occur in degenerate pairs, except for the
lowest -orbital, and for the cyclic polyenes with even numbers of carbon atoms, the highest -
orbital (see above).
Tropylium ion: C3H3+

Cyclobutadiene:

From the cyclic polyene diagram - the square molecule cyclobutadiene (C4H4) has four -
orbitals, a bonding orbital (1), two degenerate non-bonding orbitals (2 and 3) and an anti-
bonding orbital (4). Four electrons are placed into these four orbitals; twon into the bonding
orbital, and one each with parallel spins into the degenerate non-bonding orbitals (Hund's rule) -
see below:

C4H42+

There is no reason to expect cyclobutadiene to be square, theoretically calulations show an

oblong with two double bonds structre has lower energy. Experimentally it is shown that
cyclobutadiene acts a very strained cyclo-olefin, rather than as a bi-radical species.

Cyclopentadiene:
 This molecule is a relatively acidic hydrocarbon, and the anion is formed by the treatment of
cyclopentadiene with a strong base. From the cyclic polyene diagram it can be seen that
cyclopentadiene has three  bonding orbitals which are delocalised over the five carbon atoms.
The uppermost  bonding orbitals are a degenerate pair, and are the highest occupied molecular
orbitals (HOMO's).
These orbitals are much higher in energy than those in neutral aromatic species such as benzene,
indicating that this anion is far more susceptible t attack by electrophiles. The anion is far more
capable of coordinating to transition metals with available empty d-orbitals. The anion has six -
electrons, making the system aromatic. The six electrons are arranged as in the diagram below:

C5H5; (cyclopentadienide)
Benzene:

Benzene is the archetypal aromatic compound. It has a symmetrical  system and so is not over
reactive on any one site. From the cyclic polyene diagram it can be seen that benzene has six -
molecular orbitals, (which contain the six -electrons), three bonding and three anti-bonding.
The upper bonding degenerate pair of orbitals are the HOMO's of benzene. The  orbital
manifold, is shown below - but also of interst is that the pattern of the  orbitals is repeated
within the  system. The  functions - like the  orbitals are delocalized throughout the carbon
skeleton.
The six  electrons are arranged as in the diagram below:

C6H6 (benzene)
Bonding in benzene

From the above diagram it can be seen that the lowest lying orbital, 1, the orbital coefficients
are such that the bonding charachter between each pair of adjacent carbon atoms is equal. In 2
bonding only occurs between atoms C2 and C3 and between C5 and C6 since the coefficients on
C1 and C4 are zero. In 3, C1, which is bonded to C2 and C6 and C4 is bonded to C3 and C5, there
are anti-bonding interactions between C2 and C3 and between C5 and C6. Therefore if we
consider the pair of orbitals 2 and 3 the contribution to the C-C  bonding is equal for each
bond. Since there are three occupied bonding orbitals and six CC linkages - the  bond order is
1
/2. This description is in accord with the two resonating mesomeric forms (or Kekulé structures
in a) below in which single and double bond characters alternate around the ring.
Conventionally, the diagram in b) is used to show that the six electrons are delocalized around
the ring:

C7H7+ (tropyllium) and C8H82+

Do them yourself!
The molecular orbital theory of solids
Metallic Bonding
The third major type of chemical bond is the bond between two metal atoms. Metals lose
electrons and cannot normally accept them. This means that, in a metallic bond, there are no
atoms to accept the electrons. Instead, the electrons are given up to a "sea" of electrons that
surrounds the metal atoms. In a way, this is similar to ionic bonding, except that the "ions" are
electrons. The attraction between the electrons and the metal ions keeps the metal together.
The metals are the most numerous of the elements. About 80 of the 100 or so elements are
metals. You know from your own experience something about how metallic atoms
bond together. You know that metals have substance and are not easily torn apart. They are
ductile and malleable. That means they can be drawn into shapes, like the wire for this paper
clip, and their shape can be changed. They conduct heat and electricity. They can be mixed to
form alloys.How is it that metallic bonding allows metals to do all these things?
The nature of metals and metallic atoms is that they have loosely held electrons that can be
taken away fairly easily. Let's use this idea to create a model of metallic bonding to help us
explain these properties. I will use potassium as an example. Its valence electron can be
represented by a dot. When packed in a cluster it would look like this (also in example 31 in
your workbook). The valence electron is only loosely held and can move to the next atom fairly
easily. Each atom has a valence electron nearby but who knows which one belongs to which
atom. It doesn't matter as long as there is one nearby.
Metals are held together by delocalized bonds formed from the atomic orbitals of all the atoms in
the lattice. The orbitals spread over many atoms and blend into a band of molecular orbitals. The
range of energies of these orbitals are closely spaced. The band is composed of as many levels as
there are contributing atomic orbitals and each level can hold electrons of opposite spin. The idea
that the molecular orbitals of the band of energy levels are spread or delocalized over the atoms
of the piece of metal accounts for bonding in metallic solids. This theory of metallic bonding is
called the band theory. The band is split into two regions, the upper portion being the empty
levels or the antibonding and the lower portion is the filled levels or the bonding orbitals. In a
metal the band of energy levels is only partly filled. The highest filled level right before going to
the empty level is called the Fermi level. The trend of melting points of the transition metals is
based on the electrons in the metal.
Bonding Models for Metals
3.14 Molecular orbital bands
Band Theory of Bonding in Solids
Bonding in solids such as metals, insulators and semiconductors may be understood most
effectively by an expansion of simple MO theory to assemblidges of scores of atoms. If we
recall, in simple MO theory we assumed that atomic orbitals on two atoms could come together
to form bonding and antibonding orbitals.

If we bring three atoms together we can create a string of atoms with bonding that connects all
three. Here we have a bonding orbital, an antibonding orbital, and a curious critter called a
nonbonding orbital. Essentially a nonbonding orbital is an orbital that neither increases nor
decreases the net bonding in the molecule. The important feature here is that three atomic
orbitals in must give three molecular orbitals out. The total number of orbitals must remain
constant.
Now let's expand these idea by considering combinations of four and ten atoms. As shown
below, four atoms (four atomic orbitals) will give four molecular orbitals, two bonding and two
antibonding. Notice that the two bonding (and two antibonding) orbitals are not exactly the same
energy. The lower bonding orbital is slightly more bonding than the other (and one antibonding
orbital is slightly more antibinding than the other). For the ten atoms we'd get a set of five
bonding and five antibonding orbitals, each slightly different in energy.
If we now jump to a huge number of atoms, n, where n is perhaps as big as Avogadro's number,
we can see that we're going to have a nhge number of bonding and antibonding orbitals. These
orbitals will be so close together in energy that they begin to blur creating bands of bonding and
bands of antibonding orbitals. It is the existance of these bands of orbitals that underlie our
understanding of the properties of solids.
Notice, by the way, that there is some point at which the properties of an assemblidge of atoms
makes a transition from separate discrete orbitals (and hence quantum properties like atoms), to
bands of orbitals. The technology built upon tiny clusters called nanodots in which groups of
atoms with perhaps twenty atoms acts like a quantum object is built upon this concept. By the
time one has even a tiny cluster of atoms such as the submicron objects in a computer chip, the
properties are best described by band theory.
MO Theory of Solids. Consider a linear chain of n identical atoms, each bringing in a valence s
orbital for MO formation. If n = 2, 2 MOs are formed, one bonding and one antibonding. If n =
3, we obtain 3 MOs, bonding, nonbonding, and antibonding. If we run n right up to Avogadro's
number, we expect to obtain No MOs, ranging from fully bonding (+++++...) to fully
antibonding (+-+-+-...), with a whole bunch of other MOs between these extremes. This is shown
in Figure MO-20. The energy spacing between lowest and highest MOs is determined primarily
by the overlap between neighboring atoms, so will stay finite even though the number of atoms
in the
chain reaches toward the infinite! We thus have a huge number of MOs crammed into a finite
energy interval. They will be so close together in energy that they will form, for all practical
purposes, a continuous band of energy levels. For this reason the MO theory of solids is often
called Band Theory. A very important result of this treatment is that each of the MOs in the band
is delocalized over all of the atoms in the chain.
The same ideas apply to a 3-dimensional, close-packed aggregate of atoms. A band of MOs will
be formed from each type of valence AO on the atoms. Thus we obtain an s band, a p band, a d
band, and so on, as shown in Figure MO-20. All of the MOs are delocalized over all of the atoms
in the aggregate, so electrons in them can be considered to be everywhere at once! The highest
filled band of MOs is called the valence band; the lowest unfilled band is called the conduction
band; and the energy separation between the top of the valence band and the bottom of the
conduction band is called the band gap. A partially filled band is simultaneously the valence
band and the conduction band, so in this case the band gap is essentially zero.
Now let's apply this picture to understand the electronic nature of the various classes of materials
given above.
A conductor (which is usually a metal) is a solid with a partially full band, as shown in the
Figure. An electron in the highest occupied MO is easily promoted to the next higher empty
delocalized MO, where it is then free to roam over the whole solid lattice under the influence of
an applied electric field; i.e., the solid conducts electricity due to this facile electron movement.
The high reflectivity of metals is also due to the availability of a proliferation of empty MOs
above the HOMO. Electrons in the filled MOs of the partially-filled band can absorb and then re-
emit light of many wavelenths in making transitions to empty MOs in the band. This gives the
metal surface a shiny reflective appearance. An example of a conductor is Na metal. It has an s
band consisting of N MOs, where N is the number of Na atoms in the crystal. The band contains
N electrons
(one from each Na atom) arrayed in N/2 pairs. These N/2 pairs go in the N/2 bonding MOs,
which leaves N/2 antibonding MOs empty but readily accessible. Thus Na exhibits the
characteristic properties of a metal, and is a conductor.

An insulator is a solid with a full band and a large band gap, as shown in Figure MO-21. The
MOs in the conduction band are so high in energy that they are not thermally populated by the
Boltzmann distribution, and there is no conductivity at ordinary temperatures. An example of an
insulator is solid carbon in the diamond modification. Diamond consists of a covalently bonded
network of carbon atoms (a fcc array of C atoms with more C atoms in half the tetrahedral
holes), constructed from sp3 hybrid orbitals. N carbon atoms contribute 4N sp3 hybrids, which
overlap strongly to give 2N bonding MOs and 2N antibonding MOs which are separated in
energy by 5.47 eV from the bonding MOs. The 4N electrons exactly fill the band of bonding
MOs. The antibonding band is not thermally accessible, so diamond does not conduct.
3.15 Semiconduction
A semiconductor is a solid with a full band and a small band gap, as shown in the Figure. There
is a small thermal population of the conduction band at normal temperature, hence a small
conductivity. For example, silicon has a diamond modification similar to that of carbon, but a
band gap of only 1.12 eV, due to poorer overlap of the sp3 hybrids of the larger Si atoms. Since
the antibonding band will be occupied to a small extent via the Boltzmann distribution, Si
exhibits a small conductivity at room T.
The group 4A elements, which have a number of valence electrons equal to twice the number of
MOs in the bonding band, are uniquely structured to show semiconductivity. The elements C
through Sn all exhibit a diamondlike crystal form, but with a band gap which decreases in
magnitude for the larger atoms as orbital overlap becomes weaker. The trend in band gap down
family 14 is shown below:
Element Band Gap
C 5.47
Si 1.12
Ge 0.66
Sn 0

Thus Si and Ge are semiconductors at room T, and Sn is a conductor. Pure compounds which are
electronically analogous to the group 14 elements are also semiconductors. These include the
compounds boron nitride, BN, and gallium arsenide, GaAs. Note that these compounds contain
one element from group 13 and one element from group 15, in a 1:1 stoichiometric ratio. They
thus have exactly the same number of valence electrons as a group 14 element, and will arrange
these electrons in a group-14 type band structure. They are often called 3-5 compounds, to
indicate that they consist of elements taken from groups 13 and 15. Similarly, 2-6 compounds
such as ZnS and CdS (both of which have the zincblende structure, which is analogous to the
diamond structure) function as semiconductors. Generally, band gaps vary with position in the
periodic table, but tend to decrease with increasing MW of the semiconductor.
The temperature dependence of conductivity is readily understood within the framework of band
theory. For a conductor, promotion of electrons is facile within a band at any T. However, As T
increases, vibrational motions of the metal atoms in the lattice increases and interferes with the
motion of the conducting electrons. The result is a decrease in conductivity as T increases. For a
semiconductor, an increase in T causes an exponential increase in the population of the
conduction band, because of the Boltzmann distribution. Therefore the conductivity of
semiconductors increases dramatically with T. Because an insulator is actually a semiconductor
with a large band gap, the conductivity of an insulator should also increase markedly if the
temperature is made
high enough.
Because of the very large number of atoms that interact in a solid material, the energy
levels are so closely spaced that they form bands. The highest energy filled band, which is
analogous to the highest occupied molecular orbital in a molecule (HOMO), is called the valence
band. The next higher band, which is analogous to the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital
(LUMO) in a molecule, is called the conduction band. The energy separation between these
bands is called the energy gap, Eg.
Idealized representation of energy bands and gaps

The filling of these bands and the size of the energy gap determine if a material is a conductor (a
metal), a semiconductor, or an insulator. In metals there is no energy gap between filled and
unfilled energy levels. A significant number of electrons are thermally excited into empty levels,
creating holes in the filled band. The electrons in a conduction band and the holes in a valence
band can move throughout the material, allowing it to easily conduct electricity. In
semiconductors Eg is small, but large enough so that a fairly small number of electrons are in the
conduction band due to thermal energy, and these materials conduct poorly. In insulators Eg is
large so that electrons are not promoted to the conduction band due to thermal energy, and these
materials do not conduct electricity.
Three categories of materials may be easily understood by the energy gap between the bonding
bands and the antibonding bands. If there is a large gap in energy, the material is called an
insulator. If the gap is finite, but small, then the material is a semiconductor, and if there is
effectively no gap between the bands, the materials are called conductors. These properties arise
because electrons that enter the antibonding band are free to move about the crystal. Such
behavior is associated with electrical conduction. To give you an idea of the energies involved,
the band gap in diamond is 502 kJ/mol, while that in Si is 100 kJ/mol and that in Ge is 67
kJ/mol. Diamond is an insulator while the other two materials are semiconductors.
3.16 Superconduction

The Discovery of Superconduction

Before the discovery of superconduction, it was already known that cooling a metal increased its
conductivity - due to decreased electron-phonon interactions (detailed in the Theory section).
After the 'discovery' of liquified helium, allowing objects to be cooled to within 4K of absolute
zero, it was discovered (by Onnes, 1911) that when mercury was cooled to 4.15K, its resistance
suddenly (and unexpectedly) dropped to zero (i.e. it went superconducting).

Left: When Onnes

cooled mercury to
4.15K, the resistivity
suddenly dropped to
zero

In 1913, it was discovered that lead went superconducting at 7.2K. It was then 17 years until
niobium was found to superconduct at a higher temperature of 9.2K.
Onnes also observed that normal conduction characteristics could be restored in the presence of a
strong magnetic field.
The Meissner Effect

It was not until 1933 that physicists became aware of the other property of superconductors -
perfect diamagnetism. This was when Meissner and Oschenfeld discovered that a
superconducting material cooled below its critical temperature in a magnetic field excluded the
magnetic flux. This effect has now become known as the Meissner effect (- you can see a
QuickTime video of this in action from this link).

Above: The Meissner effect - a superconducting sphere in a constant

applied magnetic field excludes the magnetic flux

The limit of external magnetic field strength at which a superconductor can exclude the field is
known as the critical field strength, Bc.
Type II superconductors have two critical field strengths; Bc1, above which the field penetrates
into the superconductor, and Bc2, above which superconductivity is destroyed, as per Bc for Type
I superconductors.

Theory of Superconduction

Fritz and Heinz London proposed equations to explain the Meissner effect and predict how far a
magnetic field could penetrate into a superconductor, but it was not until 1950 that any great
theoretical progression was made, with Ginzburg-Landau theory, which explained
superconductivity and provided derivation for the London equations.

Ginzburg-Landau theory has been largely superseded by BCS theory, which deals with
superconduction in a more microscopic manner.
BCS theory was proposed by J. Bardeen, L. Cooper and J. R. Schrieffer in 1957 - it is dealt with
in the Theory section. BCS suggests the formation of so-called 'Cooper pairs', and correlates
Ginzburg-Landau and London predictions well.
Cooper pair formation - electron-phonon interaction: the electron is attracted to the positive
charge density (red glow) created by the first electron distorting the lattice around itself.
However, BCS theory does not account well for high temperature superconduction, which is still
not fully understood.

High Temperature Superconduction

The highest known temperature at which a material went superconducting increased slowly as
scientists found new materials with higher values of Tc, but it was in 1986 that a Ba-La-Cu-O
system was found to superconduct at 35K - by far the highest then found. This was interesting as
BCS theory had predicted a theoretical limit of about 30-40K to Tc (due to thermal vibrations).
Soon, materials were found that would superconduct above 77K - the melting point of liquid
nitrogen, which is far safer and much less expensive than liquid helium as a refrigerant.
Although high temperature superconductors are more useful above 77K, the term technically
refers to those materials that superconduct above 30-40K.
In 1994, the record for Tc was 164K, under 30GPa of pressure, for HgBa2Ca2Cu3O8+x.
Recommended Questions from Shriver and Atkins:

"Exercises"
3.1 - 3.5 These are important.
3.6 Important. Ignore the bit about the vapour phase.
Aklthough not explicitly covered in the course, you should be
3.7 - 3.11
able to tackle these.
3.12, 3.13 These are important.
Important. Assume S2 and Cl2 are like their equivalents in the
3.14
first row.
3.15 Important.
3.16 - 3.28 These are beyond the scope of this course.
"Problems"
3.1 You should be able to answer this.
You would be able to do this, but in is not explicitly covered in
3.2
the course.
 You should be able to do this by adding on top of to the 1s - 1s
3.3 interaction, the diagram for the homonuclear diatomic
molecules of the first row (which use 2s and 2p interactions).
3.4 - 3.15 These are beyond the scope of this course.
Some Answers and Questions

1. What holds molecules together?

2. What are the electrons doing in the molecule?
3. What insight do these considerations give concerning the chemical and physical
properties of the molecule?
4. Can we predict existence and structures of molecules?

The first objective is to derive molecular orbitals into which we can place all the electrons in the
molecule in much the same way as we do for atoms. (Using the Aufbau Principle.) To obtain
these molecular orbitals, we use a method called the linear combination of atomic orbitals
(LCAO). As the name implies, the molecular orbitals are made by adding or subtracting the
atomic orbitals. The simplest example is obtained by considering the hydrogen molecule, H2,
which we write as HA-HB, using the subscripts A and B to label the two atoms. LCAO theory
states that one of the molecular orbitals can be written as:
1 = c.1sA + d.1sB
The constants c and d are weighting constants indicating the relative amounts of each atomic
orbital that will be used. For H2, where the two hydogen atoms are equivalent, c = d, and we can
replace them by a single "normalizing" constant N:

1 = N.(1sA + 1sB) = (1/2).(1sA + 1sB)...(1)

(If the probability of finding the electron in such an orbital somewhere in all space is to be equal
to 1, N = 1/2.)
So far we have done nothing difficult, but simply assumed that equation 1 represents our MO.
Use the applet to have a look at what this orbital looks like. You can adjust the distance between
the nuclei to see what happens as the atomic orbital ovelap more and more. Figure 2 gives a
rather crude picture of what you should see.

Figure 2
Since 1sA and 1sB are positive everywhere, their sum must be too. Just as for the atomic
orbitals, the value of 2 gives the probability of finding the electron in a small region, or the
electron density at a point. This particular orbital is referred to as a bonding molecular orbital for
reasons that will shortly be explained.

There is another linear combination that we should have considered according to LCAO theory:

2 = (1/2).(1sA-1sB) ..................(2)

Use the applet to have a look at what this combination looks like. Figure 3 shows a crude
representation of what you should see. This combination is referred to as antibonding. Whenever
we combine two atomic orbitals in a way which produces a change in the sign of  between the
two component atomic orbitals, anti-bonding results.

Figure 3

We can better understand the difference between 1 and 2 by examining the electron density or
probability. For the bonding combination this is given by:

12 = ½(1sA + 1sB)2 = ½(1sA2 + 1sB2 + 2.1sA1sB) ..(3)

If we compare this to the electron density contribution from two individual hydrogen atoms,
½(1sA2 + 1sB2), it is obvious that the electron density has been increased by a amount
1sA1sB. This effect, which accounts for the bonding because the negatively charged electrons
hold the positively charged nuclei together, is illustrated in Figure 4.
 Figure 4

Question 1. The probability plot for 22 is also shown in Figure 4. What would be its equation?
(The equivalent of equation 3) What do you notice about the electron density between the nuclei
as compared to two individual hydrogen atoms simply placed side by side?
Further insight into the bonding of HA and HB can be obtained by considering the energies of the
electrons in 1 and 2 compared to their energies in the non-interacting atoms. This can be done
by plugging the LCAO wave functions for the molecule back into the appropriate Scrödinger
equation (just as it can be done for the individual atoms using the atomic wave functions). The
results are shown in Figure 5, where 1 and 2 are sometimes renamed (1s) and *(1s),
respectively, to indicate the type of molecular orbital and their parentage.

Figure 5
These molecular orbitals are useful for any molecule, or molecule-ion, using only 1s orbitals for
bonding. Several possibilities are: H2+, H2, H2-, H22-, He2+ and He2. The positive molecule-ions
are unstable, but have been detected in the gas phase under high energy conditions. The negative
molecule-ions and He2 have not been observed.

Question 2. Using Figure 5, comment on the observations about the stability of the diatomic
species listed above. (Would you expect all the negative molecule-ions to be unstable? Are there
other species not listed which might be observed? Your answer should make reference to the
electronic configuration and bond orders in these species

Second Row : Homonuclear Diatomics

Second row atoms have 2s and 2p orbitals available for use in bonding. As in the case of two
atoms with 1s orbitals interacting, two atoms with 2s orbitals interacting lead to two molecular
orbitals called (2s) and *(2s).

The symbol  is used when the molecular orbital has no nodal plane which contains both nuclei.
For the bonding combination, there is only one region of high electon density between the two
nuclei. If there is a single nodal plane containing both nuclei, the orbital is of type . In this case,
the bonding combination will have two regions of high electron density separated by the node.
There are rare cases in certain transition metal compounds, where two nodes per molecular
orbital contain both nuclei. These are designated  orbitals.

In valence bond theory terms, a single bond would have only a  symmetry bond. A double bond
consists of a  and a  bond, a triple bond would have a  and two  bonds, and the esoteric
quadruple bond has one , two  and one  combination. In a multiple bond, the various orbitals
co-exist in the same region of space between the nuclei. Do not mistake the two regions of
overlap of a -bonding orbital for a double bond!

Use the applet to display the molecular orbitals derived from the 2s atomic orbitals on two
atoms.

Question 3. Prepare sketches of the (2s) and *(2s) orbitals similar to Figures 2 and 3. Do not
attempt to copy all shading; just show all the nodes and the phase (sign) of . Do they differ at
all from figures 2 and 3?
Next use the computer program to display the overlap of two 2px orbitals. (The x axis is taken as
the internuclear axis by the computer program.)

Question 4. Prepare crude sketches of the resulting orbitals. Which combination, the sum or the
difference, corresponds to the bonding combination this time? What would be the names for
these orbitals?
Now use the applet to examine the molecular orbitals that result from the linear combinations of
the 2py orbitals. (Note that the results would be the same for the combinations of 2pz orbitals,
which, if you have time you can check by varying the value of z.)
 Question 5. Once again prepare simplified sketches of what you see. Give the proper labels for
the two combinations, including the * to indicate which is the antibonding orbital.
At this point you should have seen all the all the molecular orbitals formed by pairs of 2s and 2p
orbitals. We can construct an energy level diagram to illustrate the relative energies of all these
molecular orbitals and the atomic orbitals from which they are derived (Figure 6).

Figure 6

Question 6. What is the bond order in Li2 and O2?

What homonuclear molecule-cation and molecule-anion species should have the same bond
order as O2? Consider cases between X22- and X22+ where X = Li to Ne.
Predict which two second-row elements are unlikely to give a diatomic molecule. Does simple
Lewis bonding theory agree with your predictions?
Figure 6 does not quite tell the whole story. It can be refined a little by considering some other
types of combination. Use the computer program to examine the linear combination of a 2s
orbital on one atom with a 2px orbital on the other.

Question 7. Again sketch the results. There is no special way to label these combinations, but
say if they are of type  or , and whether they are bonding or antibonding.
Use the computer to form a combination of a 2s orbital on one atom with a 2py orbital on the
other.

Question 8. Sketch the resulting orbital. Can you classify this orbital as  or  and bonding or
antibonding? Explain. Go back to the beginning of this section if you are not sure.
Your answers to questions 7 and 8 should have convinced you that an LCAO of the type
illustrated in question 7 is a reasonable combination, but that the other combination, described in
question 8, is not useful. (Such a combination is called nonbonding.)

The results of including the additional overlap of 2s with 2p orbitals is shown in Figure 7. The
main changes are shown in red.

 There is also a little contribution from the 2s orbitals to the most antibonding molecular
orbital (at the top of the diagram), and a little contribution by the 2p orbitals to the most
bonding molecular orbital (at the bottom).

 The main changes are that the orbital which was labelled (2p) and was below the (2p)
levels is now shown above the (2P) and is now identified as *(2s,2p) while what was
*(2s) has become (2s,2p)..

The difference does not affect our predictions for any of the stable homonuclear diatomic
molecules, but it does slightly change our predictions for some of the more exotic species such as
B2, which can be detected in boron vapour.

Figure 7

In actual fact the extent of the 2s - 2p interaction changes from Li2 to F2, becoming gradually less
important, so that we should use the "improved" diagram (Figure 7) for Li2 to N2 and Figure 6
for O2 F2 (and cations of Ne2). Figure 8 below shows what happens to the molecular orbitals as
we cross the period.
 Figure 8

Question 9. What is the difference for B2?

Question 10.
Go back and briefly answer, in the context of the homonuclear diatomic molecules, the four
questions which were posed at the beginning of this lab.

Feel free to play with the applet to examine some of the other combinations of atomic orbitals
that are possible. Because the projection direction is down the z-axis certain combinations cannot
be displayed.