Antibonding molecular orbital

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H2 1ss* antibonding molecular orbital Dihydrogen-LUMO-phase-3D-balls.png
H2 1sσ* antibonding molecular orbital

In chemical bonding theory, an antibonding orbital is a type of molecular orbital that weakens the chemical bond between two atoms and helps to raise the energy of the molecule relative to the separated atoms. Such an orbital has one or more nodes in the bonding region between the nuclei. The density of the electrons in the orbital is concentrated outside the bonding region and acts to pull one nucleus away from the other and tends to cause mutual repulsion between the two atoms. [1] [2] This is in contrast to a bonding molecular orbital, which has a lower energy than that of the separate atoms, and is responsible for chemical bonds.

Contents

Diatomic molecules

Antibonding molecular orbitals (MOs) are normally higher in energy than bonding molecular orbitals. Bonding and antibonding orbitals form when atoms combine into molecules. [3] If two hydrogen atoms are initially far apart, they have identical atomic orbitals. However, as the spacing between the two atoms becomes smaller, the electron wave functions begin to overlap. The Pauli exclusion principle prohibits any two electrons (e-) in a molecule from having the same set of quantum numbers. [4] Therefore each original atomic orbital of the isolated atoms (for example, the ground state energy level, 1s) splits into two molecular orbitals belonging to the pair, one lower in energy than the original atomic level and one higher. The orbital which is in a lower energy state than the orbitals of the separate atoms is the bonding orbital, which is more stable and promotes the bonding of the two H atoms into H2. The higher-energy orbital is the antibonding orbital, which is less stable and opposes bonding if it is occupied. In a molecule such as H2, the two electrons normally occupy the lower-energy bonding orbital, so that the molecule is more stable than the separate H atoms.

He2 electron configuration. The four electrons occupy one bonding orbital at lower energy, and one antibonding orbital at higher energy than the atomic orbitals. He2 antibonding orbital.png
He2 electron configuration. The four electrons occupy one bonding orbital at lower energy, and one antibonding orbital at higher energy than the atomic orbitals.

A molecular orbital becomes antibonding when there is less electron density between the two nuclei than there would be if there were no bonding interaction at all. [5] When a molecular orbital changes sign (from positive to negative) at a nodal plane between two atoms, it is said to be antibonding with respect to those atoms. Antibonding orbitals are often labelled with an asterisk (*) on molecular orbital diagrams.

In homonuclear diatomic molecules, σ* (sigma star) antibonding orbitals have no nodal planes passing through the two nuclei, like sigma bonds, and π* (pi star) orbitals have one nodal plane passing through the two nuclei, like pi bonds. The Pauli exclusion principle dictates that no two electrons in an interacting system may have the same quantum state. If the bonding orbitals are filled, then any additional electrons will occupy antibonding orbitals. This occurs in the He2 molecule, in which both the 1sσ and 1sσ* orbitals are filled. [6] Since the antibonding orbital is more antibonding than the bonding orbital is bonding, the molecule has a higher energy than two separated helium atoms, and it is therefore unstable.

Polyatomic molecules

Butadiene pi molecular orbitals. The two colors show opposite signs of the wavefunction. Butadiene-pi-MOs-Spartan-3D-balls.png
Butadiene pi molecular orbitals. The two colors show opposite signs of the wavefunction.

In molecules with several atoms, some orbitals may be delocalized over more than two atoms. A particular molecular orbital may be bonding with respect to some adjacent pairs of atoms and antibonding with respect to other pairs. If the bonding interactions outnumber the antibonding interactions, the MO is said to be bonding, whereas, if the antibonding interactions outnumber the bonding interactions, the molecular orbital is said to be antibonding.

For example, butadiene has pi orbitals which are delocalized over all four carbon atoms. There are two bonding pi orbitals which are occupied in the ground state: π1 is bonding between all carbons, while π2 is bonding between C1 and C2 and between C3 and C4, and antibonding between C2 and C3. There are also antibonding pi orbitals with two and three antibonding interactions as shown in the diagram; these are vacant in the ground state, but may be occupied in excited states.

Similarly benzene with six carbon atoms has three bonding pi orbitals and three antibonding pi orbitals. Since each carbon atom contributes one electron to the π-system of benzene, there are six pi electrons which fill the three lowest-energy pi molecular orbitals (the bonding pi orbitals).

Antibonding orbitals are also important for explaining chemical reactions in terms of molecular orbital theory. Roald Hoffmann and Kenichi Fukui shared the 1981 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work and further development of qualitative molecular orbital explanations for chemical reactions. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

Chemical bond Lasting attraction between atoms that enables the formation of chemical compounds

A chemical bond is a lasting attraction between atoms, ions or molecules that enables the formation of chemical compounds. The bond may result from the electrostatic force between oppositely charged ions as in ionic bonds or through the sharing of electrons as in covalent bonds. The strength of chemical bonds varies considerably; there are "strong bonds" or "primary bonds" such as covalent, ionic and metallic bonds, and "weak bonds" or "secondary bonds" such as dipole–dipole interactions, the London dispersion force and hydrogen bonding.

Covalent bond Chemical bond that involves the sharing of electron pairs between atoms

A covalent bond is a chemical bond that involves the sharing of electron pairs between atoms. These electron pairs are known as shared pairs or bonding pairs, and the stable balance of attractive and repulsive forces between atoms, when they share electrons, is known as covalent bonding. For many molecules, the sharing of electrons allows each atom to attain the equivalent of a full valence shell, corresponding to a stable electronic configuration. In organic chemistry, covalent bonding is much more common than ionic bonding.

Molecular orbital Wave-like behavior of an electron in a molecule

In chemistry, a molecular orbital is a mathematical function describing the location and wave-like behavior of an electron in a molecule. This function can be used to calculate chemical and physical properties such as the probability of finding an electron in any specific region. The terms atomic orbital and molecular orbital were introduced by Robert S. Mulliken in 1932 to mean one-electron orbital wave functions. At an elementary level, they are used to describe the region of space in which a function has a significant amplitude.

Energy level Different states of quantum systems

A quantum mechanical system or particle that is bound—that is, confined spatially—can only take on certain discrete values of energy, called energy levels. This contrasts with classical particles, which can have any amount of energy. The term is commonly used for the energy levels of the electrons in atoms, ions, or molecules, which are bound by the electric field of the nucleus, but can also refer to energy levels of nuclei or vibrational or rotational energy levels in molecules. The energy spectrum of a system with such discrete energy levels is said to be quantized.

Conjugated system System of connected p orbitals with delocalized electrons increasing molecular stability.

In chemistry, a conjugated system is a system of connected p orbitals with delocalized electrons in a molecule, which in general lowers the overall energy of the molecule and increases stability. It is conventionally represented as having alternating single and multiple bonds. Lone pairs, radicals or carbenium ions may be part of the system, which may be cyclic, acyclic, linear or mixed. The term "conjugated" was coined in 1899 by the German chemist Johannes Thiele.

Aromaticity Phenomenon providing chemical stability in resonating hybrids of cyclic organic compounds

In chemistry, aromaticity is a property of cyclic (ring-shaped), typically planar (flat) molecular structures with pi bonds in resonance that gives increased stability compared with other geometric or connective arrangements with the same set of atoms. Aromatic rings are very stable and do not break apart easily. Organic compounds that are not aromatic are classified as aliphatic compounds—they might be cyclic, but only aromatic rings have enhanced stability.

Pi bond Type of chemical bond

In chemistry, pi bonds are covalent chemical bonds, in each of which two lobes of an orbital on one atom overlap with two lobes of an orbital on another atom, and in which this overlap occurs laterally. Each of these atomic orbitals has an electron density of zero at a shared nodal plane that passes through the two bonded nuclei. This plane also is a nodal plane for the molecular orbital of the pi bond. Pi bonds can form in double and triple bonds but do not form in single bonds in most cases.

In chemistry, molecular orbital theory is a method for describing the electronic structure of molecules using quantum mechanics. It was proposed early in the 20th century.

Sigma bond Covalent chemical bond

In chemistry, sigma bonds are the strongest type of covalent chemical bond. They are formed by head-on overlapping between atomic orbitals. Sigma bonding is most simply defined for diatomic molecules using the language and tools of symmetry groups. In this formal approach, a σ-bond is symmetrical with respect to rotation about the bond axis. By this definition, common forms of sigma bonds are s+s, pz+pz, s+pz and dz2+dz2 . Quantum theory also indicates that molecular orbitals (MO) of identical symmetry actually mix or hybridize. As a practical consequence of this mixing of diatomic molecules, the wavefunctions s+s and pz+pz molecular orbitals become blended. The extent of this mixing depends on the relative energies of the MOs of like symmetry.

In chemistry, orbital hybridisation is the concept of mixing atomic orbitals to form new hybrid orbitals suitable for the pairing of electrons to form chemical bonds in valence bond theory. For example, in a carbon atom which forms four single bonds the valence-shell s orbital combines with three valence-shell p orbitals to form four equivalent sp3 mixtures in a tetrahedral arrangement around the carbon to bond to four different atoms. Hybrid orbitals are useful in the explanation of molecular geometry and atomic bonding properties and are symmetrically disposed in space. Usually hybrid orbitals are formed by mixing atomic orbitals of comparable energies.

In chemistry, bond order, as introduced by Linus Pauling, is defined as the difference between the number of bonds and anti-bonds.

Delta bond Type of Chemical Bond

In chemistry, delta bonds are covalent chemical bonds, where four lobes of one involved atomic orbital overlap four lobes of the other involved atomic orbital. This overlap leads to the formation of a bonding molecular orbital with two nodal planes which contain the internuclear axis and go through both atoms.

Hyperconjugation Concept in organic chemistry

In organic chemistry, hyperconjugation refers to the delocalization of electrons with the participation of bonds of primarily σ-character. Usually, hyperconjugation involves the interaction of the electrons in a sigma (σ) orbital with an adjacent unpopulated non-bonding p or antibonding σ* or π* orbitals to give a pair of extended molecular orbitals. However, sometimes, low-lying antibonding σ* orbitals may also interact with filled orbitals of lone pair character (n) in what is termed negative hyperconjugation. Increased electron delocalization associated with hyperconjugation increases the stability of the system. In particular, the new orbital with bonding character is stabilized, resulting in an overall stabilization of the molecule. Only electrons in bonds that are in the β position can have this sort of direct stabilizing effect — donating from a sigma bond on an atom to an orbital in another atom directly attached to it. However, extended versions of hyperconjugation can be important as well. The Baker–Nathan effect, sometimes used synonymously for hyperconjugation, is a specific application of it to certain chemical reactions or types of structures.

The Hückel method or Hückel molecular orbital theory, proposed by Erich Hückel in 1930, is a simple method for calculating molecular orbitals as linear combinations of atomic orbitals. The theory predicts the molecular orbitals for π-electrons in π-delocalized molecules, such as ethylene, benzene, butadiene, and pyridine. It provides the theoretical basis for Hückel's rule that cyclic, planar molecules or ions with π-electrons are aromatic. It was later extended to conjugated molecules such as pyridine, pyrrole and furan that contain atoms other than carbon and hydrogen (heteroatoms). A more dramatic extension of the method to include σ-electrons, known as the extended Hückel method (EHM), was developed by Roald Hoffmann. The extended Hückel method gives some degree of quantitative accuracy for organic molecules in general and was used to provide computational justification for the Woodward–Hoffmann rules. To distinguish the original approach from Hoffmann's extension, the Hückel method is also known as the simple Hückel method (SHM).

A molecular orbital diagram, or MO diagram, is a qualitative descriptive tool explaining chemical bonding in molecules in terms of molecular orbital theory in general and the linear combination of atomic orbitals (LCAO) method in particular. A fundamental principle of these theories is that as atoms bond to form molecules, a certain number of atomic orbitals combine to form the same number of molecular orbitals, although the electrons involved may be redistributed among the orbitals. This tool is very well suited for simple diatomic molecules such as dihydrogen, dioxygen, and carbon monoxide but becomes more complex when discussing even comparatively simple polyatomic molecules, such as methane. MO diagrams can explain why some molecules exist and others do not. They can also predict bond strength, as well as the electronic transitions that can take place.

Localized molecular orbitals are molecular orbitals which are concentrated in a limited spatial region of a molecule, such as a specific bond or lone pair on a specific atom. They can be used to relate molecular orbital calculations to simple bonding theories, and also to speed up post-Hartree–Fock electronic structure calculations by taking advantage of the local nature of electron correlation. Localized orbitals in systems with periodic boundary conditions are known as Wannier functions.

A non-bonding orbital, also known as non-bonding molecular orbital (NBMO), is a molecular orbital whose occupation by electrons neither increases nor decreases the bond order between the involved atoms. Non-bonding orbitals are often designated by the letter n in molecular orbital diagrams and electron transition notations. Non-bonding orbitals are the equivalent in molecular orbital theory of the lone pairs in Lewis structures. The energy level of a non-bonding orbital is typically in between the lower energy of a valence shell bonding orbital and the higher energy of a corresponding antibonding orbital. As such, a non-bonding orbital with electrons would commonly be a HOMO.

An electronic effect influences the structure, reactivity, or properties of molecule but is neither a traditional bond nor a steric effect. In organic chemistry, the term stereoelectronic effect is also used to emphasize the relation between the electronic structure and the geometry (stereochemistry) of a molecule.

Chemical bonding of water

Water is a simple triatomic bent molecule with C2v molecular symmetry and bond angle of 104.5° between the central oxygen atom and the hydrogen atoms. Despite being one of the simplest triatomic molecules, its chemical bonding scheme is nonetheless complex as many of its bonding properties such as bond angle, ionization energy, and electronic state energy cannot be explained by one unified bonding model. Instead, several traditional and advanced bonding models such as simple Lewis and VSEPR structure, valence bond theory, molecular orbital theory, isovalent hybridization, and Bent's rule are discussed below to provide a comprehensive bonding model for H
2
O
, explaining and rationalizing the various electronic and physical properties and features manifested by its peculiar bonding arrangements.

The bonding orbital is used in molecular orbital (MO) theory to describe the attractive interactions between the atomic orbitals of two or more atoms in a molecule. In MO theory, electrons are portrayed to move in waves. When more than one of these waves come close together, the in-phase combination of these waves produces an interaction that leads to a species that is greatly stabilized. The result of the waves’ constructive interference causes the density of the electrons to be found within the binding region, creating a stable bond between the two species.

References

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  2. Miessler G.L. and Tarr D.A., Inorganic Chemistry 2nd ed. (Prentice-Hall 1999), p.111 ISBN   0-13-841891-8
  3. "Molecular Orbital - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics".
  4. "The Chemical Bond - the Effect of the Pauli Principle on Chemical Binding".
  5. Nordholm, Sture; Bacskay, George B. (2020). "The Basics of Covalent Bonding in Terms of Energy and Dynamics". Molecules. 25 (11): 2667. doi: 10.3390/molecules25112667 . PMC   7321125 . PMID   32521828.
  6. "2.1. Combining atomic orbitals, sigma and pi bonding | Organic Chemistry 1: An open textbook".
  7. "The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1981". Nobelprize.org. Archived from the original on 21 December 2008. Retrieved 15 March 2022.

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