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7: Chemical Bonding II- Valance Bond Theory, and Molecular Orbital Theory

  • Page ID
    25416
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    • 7.1: Oxygen- A Magnetic Liquid
    • 7.2: Valence Bond Theory- Orbital Overlap as a Chemical Bond
      A more sophisticated treatment of bonding is needed for systems such as these. In this section, we present a quantum mechanical description of bonding, in which bonding electrons are viewed as being localized between the nuclei of the bonded atoms. The overlap of bonding orbitals is substantially increased through a process called hybridization, which results in the formation of stronger bonds.
    • 7.3: Valence Bond Theory- Hybridization of Atomic Orbitals
      The localized valence bonding theory uses a process called hybridization, in which atomic orbitals that are similar in energy but not equivalent are combined mathematically to produce sets of equivalent orbitals that are properly oriented to form bonds. These new combinations are called hybrid atomic orbitals because they are produced by combining (hybridizing) two or more atomic orbitals from the same atom.
    • 7.4: Molecular Orbital Theory- Electron Delocalization
      A molecular orbital is an allowed spatial distribution of electrons in a molecule that is associated with a particular orbital energy. Unlike an atomic orbital, which is centered on a single atom, a molecular orbital extends over all the atoms in a molecule or ion. Hence the molecular orbital theory of bonding is a delocalized approach. Molecular orbitals are constructed using linear combinations of atomic orbitals (LCAOs), which describe overlapping atomic orbitals.
    • 7.5: Molecular Orbital Theory- Polyatomic Molecules
    • 7.6: Bonding in Metals and Semiconductors


    7: Chemical Bonding II- Valance Bond Theory, and Molecular Orbital Theory is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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