Free, electron molecular orbital theory valence

The electron-sea model is a simple depiction of a metal as an array of positive ions surrounded by delocalized valence electrons. Molecular orbital theory gives a more detailed picture of the bonding in metals. Because the energy levels in a metal crowd together into bands, this picture of metal bonding is often referred to as band theory. According to band theory, the electrons in a crystal become free to move when they are excited to the unoccupied orbitals of a band. In a metal, this re-... 

In the previous chapters, we discussed various models of bonding for covalent and polar covalent molecules (the VSEPR and LCP models, valence bond theory, and molecular orbital theory). We shall now turn our focus to a discussion of models describing metallic bonding. We begin with the free electron model, which assumes that the ionized electrons in a metallic solid have been completely removed from the influence of the atoms in the crystal and exist essentially as an electron gas. Freshman chemistry books typically describe this simplified version of metallic bonding as a sea of electrons that is delocalized over all the metal atoms in the crystalline solid. We shall then progress to the band theory of solids, which results from introducing the periodic potential of the crystalline lattice. 

Even though HMO theory cannot be relied upon for quantitatively correct predictions for some physical properties, it nevertheless provides a convenient framework for the development of a number of useful concepts in molecular bonding and reactivity. Among these are k electron density, charge density, bond order, and free valence. We calculate the electron density (p,) at each atom by summing the electron density at that atom for each occupied molecular orbital. We have defined ipi in equation 4.1 ... 

In this paper a method [11], which allows for an a priori BSSE removal at the SCF level, is for the first time applied to interaction densities studies. This computational protocol which has been called SCF-MI (Self-Consistent Field for Molecular Interactions) to highlight its relationship to the standard Roothaan equations and its special usefulness in the evaluation of molecular interactions, has recently been successfully used [11-13] for evaluating Eint in a number of intermolecular complexes. Comparison of standard SCF interaction densities with those obtained from the SCF-MI approach should shed light on the effects of BSSE removal. Such effects may then be compared with those deriving from the introduction of Coulomb correlation corrections. To this aim, we adopt a variational perturbative valence bond (VB) approach that uses orbitals derived from the SCF-MI step and thus maintains a BSSE-free picture. Finally, no bias should be introduced in our study by the particular approach chosen to analyze the observed charge density rearrangements. Therefore, not a model but a theory which is firmly rooted in Quantum Mechanics, applied directly to the electron density p and giving quantitative answers, is to be adopted. Bader s Quantum Theory of Atoms in Molecules (QTAM) [14, 15] meets nicely all these requirements. Such a theory has also been recently applied to molecular crystals as a valid tool to rationalize and quantitatively detect crystal field effects on the molecular densities [16-18]. 

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