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Chemist Linus Pauling first developed the hybridisation theory in 1931 to explain the structure of simple molecules such as methane (CH 4) using atomic orbitals. [2] Pauling pointed out that a carbon atom forms four bonds by using one s and three p orbitals, so that "it might be inferred" that a carbon atom would form three bonds at right angles (using p orbitals) and a fourth weaker bond ...
In chemical bonds, an orbital overlap is the concentration of orbitals on adjacent atoms in the same regions of space. Orbital overlap can lead to bond formation. Linus Pauling explained the importance of orbital overlap in the molecular bond angles observed through experimentation; it is the basis for orbital hybridization.
In particular, Pauling introduced the concept of hybridisation, where atomic s and p orbitals are combined to give hybrid sp, sp 2, and sp 3 orbitals. Hybrid orbitals proved powerful in explaining the molecular geometries of simple molecules like methane, which is tetrahedral with an sp 3 carbon atom and bond angles of 109.5° between the four ...
This MO is called the bonding orbital and its energy is lower than that of the original atomic orbitals. A bond involving molecular orbitals which are symmetric with respect to any rotation around the bond axis is called a sigma bond (σ-bond). If the phase cycles once while rotating round the axis, the bond is a pi bond (π-bond).
Conservation of spin quantum number would require a triplet transition state in a reaction of triplet oxygen with a closed shell (a molecule in a singlet state). The extra energy required is sufficient to prevent direct reaction at ambient temperatures with all but the most reactive substrates, e.g. white phosphorus. At higher temperatures or ...
As the two atoms become closer together, their atomic orbitals overlap to produce areas of high electron density, and, as a consequence, molecular orbitals are formed between the two atoms. The atoms are held together by the electrostatic attraction between the positively charged nuclei and the negatively charged electrons occupying bonding ...
Orbitals with ℓ = 1, 2 and 3 are denoted as p, d and f respectively. The set of orbitals for a given n and ℓ is called a subshell, denoted . The superscript y shows the number of electrons in the subshell. For example, the notation 2p 4 indicates that the 2p subshell of an atom contains 4 electrons.
On these concepts, Pauling developed hybridization theory to account for bonds in molecules such as CH 4, in which four sp³ hybridised orbitals are overlapped by hydrogen's 1s orbital, yielding four sigma (σ) bonds. The four bonds are of the same length and strength, which yields a molecular structure as shown below: