Structural changes accompanying the stepwise population of a B-C pi bond

Conjugated dienes have lower heats of hydrogenation than cumulated and isolated dienes, making them more stable. The enhanced stabilization of conjugated systems can be understood from their π molecular orbitals.
The simplest conjugated diene is 1,3-butadiene: a four-carbon system where each carbon is sp2-hybridized and has an unhybridized p orbital that contains an unpaired electron. According to molecular orbital theory, atomic orbitals combine to form molecular orbitals such that the number...

Sigmatropic rearrangements are a class of pericyclic reactions in which a σ bond migrates from one part of a π system to another. These are intramolecular rearrangements where the total number of σ and π bonds remain unchanged.
Sigmatropic shifts are classified based on an order term [i, j ], where i and j indicate the number of atoms across which each end of the σ bond migrates. Below are examples of a [3,3] sigmatropic shift in 1,5-hexadiene, referred to as...

Overview of Valence Bond Theory

Coordination compounds and complexes exhibit different colors, geometries, and magnetic behavior, depending on the metal atom/ion and ligands from which they are composed. In an attempt to explain the bonding and structure of coordination complexes, Linus Pauling proposed the valence bond theory, or VBT, using the concepts of hybridization and the overlapping of the atomic orbitals. According to VBT, the central metal atom or ion (Lewis acid) hybridizes to provide empty orbitals of suitable...

Molecular Orbital Energy Diagrams

According to valence bond theory, a covalent bond results when: (1) an orbital on one atom overlaps an orbital on a second atom, and (2) the single electrons in each orbital combine to form an electron pair. The strength of a covalent bond depends on the extent of overlap of the orbitals involved. Maximum overlap is possible when the orbitals overlap on a direct line between the two nuclei.
A σ bond (single bond in a Lewis structure) is a covalent bond in which the electron density is...