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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 ...
Two atomic orbitals in phase create a larger electron density, which leads to the σ orbital. If the two 1s orbitals are not in phase, a node between them causes a jump in energy, the σ* orbital. From the diagram you can deduce the bond order, how many bonds are formed between the two atoms. For this molecule it is equal to one.
This exercise generates the diagram at right (Figure 1). Three molecular orbitals result from the combination of the three relevant atomic orbitals, with the four electrons occupying the two MOs lowest in energy – a bonding MO delocalized across all three centers, and a non-bonding MO localized on the peripheral centers.
The molecular orbitals of a molecule can be illustrated in molecular orbital diagrams. Common bonding orbitals are sigma (σ) orbitals which are symmetric about the bond axis and pi (π) orbitals with a nodal plane along the bond axis.
Hybridization is a model that describes how atomic orbitals combine to form new orbitals that better match the geometry of molecules. Atomic orbitals that are similar in energy combine to make hybrid orbitals. For example, the carbon in methane (CH 4) undergoes sp 3 hybridization to form four equivalent orbitals, resulting in a tetrahedral shape.
Electron atomic and molecular orbitals. The chart of orbitals (left) is arranged by increasing energy (see Madelung rule). Atomic orbits are functions of three variables (two angles, and the distance r from the nucleus). These images are faithful to the angular component of the orbital, but not entirely representative of the orbital as a whole.
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 ...
For the hydrogen fluoride molecule, for example, two F lone pairs are essentially unhybridized p orbitals of π symmetry, while the other is an sp x hydrid orbital of σ symmetry. An analogous consideration applies to water (one O lone pair is in a pure p orbital, another is in an sp x hybrid orbital).