Coordinate bond-bonding models molecular orbital theory

The current model of bonding in coordination complexes developed gradually between 1930-1950, and has largely superseded the hybridization model discussed previously. It is essentially a simplified adaptation of molecular orbital theory which focuses on the manner in which the electric field due to the unpaired electrons on the ligands interact with the five different d orbitals of the central ion. 

The VSEPR model works at its best in rationalizing ground state stereochemistry but does not attempt to indicate a more precise electron distribution. The molecular orbital theory based on 3s and 3p orbitals only is also compatible with a relative weakening of the axial bonds. Use of a simple Hiickel MO model, which considers only CT orbitals in the valence shell and totally neglects explicit electron repulsions can be invoked to interpret the same experimental results. It was demonstrated that the electron-rich three-center bonding model could explain the trends observed in five-coordinate speciesVarious MO models of electronic structure have been proposed to predict the shapes and other properties of non-transition element... 

Scientists have long recognized that many of the magnetic properties and colors of transition-metal complexes are related to the presence of d electrons in the metal cation. In this section we consider a model for bonding in transition-metal complexes, crystal-field theory, that accounts for many of the observed properties of these substances. Because the predictions of crystal-field theory are essentially the same as those obtained with more advanced molecular-orbital theories, crystal-field theory is an excellent place to start in considering the electronic structure of coordination compounds. 

We have seen that the crystal-field model provides a basis for explaining many features of transition-metal complexes. In fact, it can be used to explain many observations in addition to those we have discussed. Many lines of evidence show, however, that the bonding between transition-metal ions and ligands must have some covalent character. Molecular-orbital theory (Sections 9.7 and 9.8) can also be used to describe the bonding in complexes, although the application of molecular-orbital theory to coordination compounds is beyond the scope of our discussion. The crystal-field model, although not entirely accurate in all details, provides an adequate and useful first description of the electronic structure of complexes. 

Puddephatt etal. [41] have studied the C-H or C-C bond activation in the alkane complexes [PtMe(CH4)L2] or [PtMe(CHjCH3)L2] (L = NH3 or PH3) as well as the reductive elimination of methane or ethane from the five-coordinate model complexes [PtHMe2L2] or [PtMesLi], respectively, by carrying out extended Hiickel molecular orbital calculations and density functional theory. The oxidative addition and reductive elimination reactions occur by a concerted mechanism, probably with a pinched trigonal-bipyramidal complex on the... 

The modern theory of chemical bonding begins with the article The Atom and the Molecule published by the American chemist G. N. Lewis in 1916 [1], In this article, which is still well worth reading, Lewis for the first time associates a single chemical bond with one pair of electrons held in common by the two atoms "After a brief review of Lewis model we turn to a quantum-mechanical description of the simplest of all molecules, viz. the hydrogen molecule ion H J. Since this molecule contains only one electron, the Schrodinger equation can be solved exactly once the distance between the nuclei has been fixed. We shall not write down these solutions since they require the use of a rather exotic coordinate system. Instead we shall show how approximate wavefunctions can be written as linear combinations of atomic orbitals of the two atoms. Finally we shall discuss so-called molecular orbital calculations on the simplest two-electron atom, viz. the hydrogen molecule. 

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