Molecular Orbital Energy Diagrams

Overview of Molecular Orbital Theory

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...

The molecular orbital theory describes the distribution of electrons in molecules in a manner similar to the distribution of electrons in atomic orbitals. The region of space in which a valence electron in a molecule is likely to be found is called a molecular orbital. Mathematically, the linear combination of atomic orbitals (LCAO) generates molecular orbitals. Combinations of in-phase atomic orbital wave functions result in regions with a high probability of electron density, while...

An atomic orbital represents the three-dimensional regions in an atom where an electron has the highest probability to reside. The radial distribution function indicates the total probability of finding an electron within the thin shell at a distance r from the nucleus. The atomic orbitals have distinct shapes which are determined by l, the angular momentum quantum number. The orbitals are often drawn with a boundary surface, enclosing densest regions of the cloud.

In an atom, the negatively charged electrons are attracted to the positively charged nucleus. In a multielectron atom, electron-electron repulsions are also observed. The attractive and repulsive forces are dependent on the distance between the particles, as well as the sign and magnitude of the charges on the individual particles. When the charges on the particles are opposite, they attract each other. If both particles have the same charge, they repel each other.