All Questions
5
questions
-1
votes
1
answer
205
views
Why can s and p orbitals of one atom form hybrid orbitals but the overlaping of s & p orbitals of two different atoms don't form a molecular orbital?
So my question is in the title : Why can s and p orbitals of one atom form hybrid orbitals but the overlapping of one s orbital and one p orbital (perpendicular to the bond axis) of two different ...
- 69
3
votes
2
answers
392
views
Determination of energies in MO diagrams
How do we determine the relative placements of molecular orbitals in their diagrams? I understand that we can use point groups to find symmetry-allowed interactions between orbitals that we write on ...
3
votes
1
answer
118
views
Do SALC-AOs really belong to their symmetry species?
I'm working through a molecular symmetry textbook and something keeps nagging at me. If I derive the SALC-AOs for NH3 (using the projection operator method), I'll get
A1: $ \frac{1}{\sqrt{3}}(\...
- 33
6
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Why does symmetry have to be maintained in molecular orbitals?
Using the example of $\ce{XeF4}$:
What is the physical explanation enforcing the symmetry of the $\ce{1b_{1g}}$ orbital on the fluorine atoms? Why isn't the symmetry of a nonbonding orbital arbitrary?...
- 1,648
34
votes
1
answer
10k
views
When is it true that more nodes equals higher energy?
Consider all the MOs of some isolated molecule. (It could be a single
atom too; I'll use MO to refer to AOs as well.) Number them in
increasing order of the number of nodes (node = surface where the ...
- 2,757