Homonuclear diatomic molecules valence bond theory

Chapter 1 Homonuclear diatomic molecules valence bond (VB) theory 27... 

Valence bond theory does agree fairly well with molecular orbital (MO) theory for homonuclear diatomic molecules that can obey the octet rule H2 (single bond, bond order = 1), Li2 (single bond, bond order = 1), N2 (triple bond, bond order = 3), 02 (double bond, bond order = 2), F2 (single bond, bond order = 1). However, for those molecules that don t, it is more difficult to know if they exist or not and what bond orders they have. MO theory allows us to predict that He2, Be2 and Ne2 do not exist since they have bond orders = 0, and that B2 has bond order = 1 and C2 has bond order = 2. 

The validity of molecular orbital theory is supported by its ability, unlike valence bond theory, to correctly predict certain properties of homonuclear diatomic molecules of elements in the first and second periods. What prediction would valence bond theory make about the paramagnetism of these molecules For which molecules does molecular orbital theory make a different prediction ... 

As noted above (equations 9 and 10), each pair of valence NHOs /ia, /ib leads to a complementary pair of valence bond (/)ab) and antibond ( ab) orbitals. Although the latter orbitals play no role in the elementary Lewis picture, their importance was emphasized by Lennard-Jones and Mulliken in the treatment of homonuclear diatomic molecules. Since valence antibonds represent the residual atomic valence-shell capacity that is not saturated by covalent bond formation, they are generally found to play the leading role in noncovalent interactions and delocalization effects beyond the Lewis structure picture. Indeed, it may be said that the NBO treatment of bond-antibond interactions constitutes its most unique and characteristic contribution toward extending the Lewis structure concepts of valence theory. Although the NBO hybrids and polarization coefficients are chosen to minimize the role of antibonds, the final non-zero weighting of non-Lewis orbitals reflects their essential contribution to wavefunction delocalization. 

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