Hybrid Hybridisation

When elements in Period 2 form covalent bonds, the 2s and 2p orbitals can be mixed or hybridised to form new, hybrid orbitals each of which has. effectively, a single-pear shape, well suited for overlap with the orbital of another atom. Taking carbon as an example the four orbitals 2s.2p.2p.2p can all be mixed to form four new hybrid orbitals (called sp because they are formed from one s and three p) these new orbitals appear as in Figure 2.9. i.e. they... 

The element before carbon in Period 2, boron, has one electron less than carbon, and forms many covalent compounds of type BX3 where X is a monovalent atom or group. In these, the boron uses three sp hybrid orbitals to form three trigonal planar bonds, like carbon in ethene, but the unhybridised 2p orbital is vacant, i.e. it contains no electrons. In the nitrogen atom (one more electron than carbon) one orbital must contain two electrons—the lone pair hence sp hybridisation will give four tetrahedral orbitals, one containing this lone pair. Oxygen similarly hybridised will have two orbitals occupied by lone pairs, and fluorine, three. Hence the hydrides of the elements from carbon to fluorine have the structures... 

Here, the bonding between carbon atoms is briefly reviewed fuller accounts can be found in many standard chemistry textbooks, e.g., [1]. The carbon atom [ground state electronic configuration (ls )(2s 2px2py)] can form sp sp and sp hybrid bonds as a result of promotion and hybridisation. There are four equivalent 2sp hybrid orbitals that are tetrahedrally oriented about the carbon atom and can form four equivalent tetrahedral a bonds by overlap with orbitals of other atoms. An example is the molecule ethane, CjH, where a Csp -Csp (or C-C) a bond is formed between two C atoms by overlap of sp orbitals, and three Csp -Hls a bonds are formed on each C atom. Fig. 1, Al. 

A second type of hybridisation of the valence electrons in the carbon atom can occur to form three 2sp hybrid orbitals leaving one unhybridised 2p orbital. 

In the third type of hybridisation of the valence electrons of carbon, two linear 2sp orbitals are formed leaving two unhybridised 2p orbitals. Linear a bonds are formed by overlap of the sp hybrid orbitals with orbitals of neighbouring atoms, as in the molecule ethyne (acetylene) C2H2, Fig. 1, A3. The unhybridised p orbitals of the carbon atoms overlap to form two n bonds the bonds formed between two C atoms in this way are represented as Csp Csp, or simply as C C. 

For elements adjacent to the noble gases the principal orbitals used in bond formation are those formed by hybridisation of the s and p orbitals. For the transition elements there are nine stable orbitals to be taken into consideration, which in general are hybrids of five d orbitals, one s orbital, and three p orbitals. An especially important set of six bond orbitals, directed toward the comers of a regular octahedron, are the d2sps orbitals, which are involved in most of the Werner octahedral complexes formed by the transition elements. 

A carbon atom combining with four other atoms clearly does not use the one 2s and the three 2p atomic orbitals that would now be available, for this would lead to the formation of three directed bonds, mutually at right angles (with the three 2p orbitals), and one different, non-directed bond (with the spherical 2s orbital). Whereas in fact, the four C—H bonds in, for example, methane are known to be identical and symmetrically (tetrahedrally) disposed at an angle of 109° 28 to each other. This may be accounted for on the basis of redeploying the 2s and the three 2p atomic orbitals so as to yield four new (identical) orbitals, which are capable of forming stronger bonds (cf. p. 5). These new orbitals are known as sp3 hybrid atomic orbitals, and the process by which they are obtained as hybridisation ... 

Similar, but different, redeployment is envisaged when a carbon atom combines with three other atoms, e.g. in ethene (ethylene) (p. 8) three sp2 hybrid atomic orbitals disposed at 120° to each other in the same plane (plane trigonal hybridisation) are then employed. Finally, when carbon combines with two other atoms, e.g. in ethyne (acetylene) (p. 9) two sp1 hybrid atomic orbitals disposed at 180° to each other (idigonal hybridisation) are employed. In each case the s orbital is always involved as it is the one of lowest energy level. 

These are all valid ways of deploying one 2s and three 2p atomic orbitals—in the case of sp2 hybridisation there will be one unhybridised p orbital also available (p. 8), and in the case of sp1 hybridisation there will be two (p. 10). Other, equally valid, modes of hybridisation are also possible in which the hybrid orbitals are not necessarily identical with each other, e.g. those used in CH2C12 compared with the ones used in CC14 and CH4. Hybridisation takes place so that the atom concerned can form as strong bonds as possible, and so that the other atoms thus bonded (and the electron pairs constituting the bonds) are as far apart from each other as possible, i.e. so that the total intrinsic energy of the resultant compound is at a minimum. 

Arynes present structural features of some interest. They clearly cannot be acetylenic in the usual sense as this would require enormous deformation of the benzene ring in order to accommodate the 180° bond angle required by the sp1 hybridised carbons in an alkyne (p. 9). It seems more likely that the delocalised 7i orbitals of the aromatic system are left largely untouched (aromatic stability thereby being conserved), and that the two available electrons are accommodated in the original sp2 hybrid orbitals (101) ... 

The GHO basis can therefore provide a localised, directional set of orbitals (hybrids) which do not have the principal qualitative disadvantage of the usual hybrid sets they can be mutually orientated in any directions. What is more the directions taken up by the GHOs can be decided variationally and not by the unitary properties of a hybridisation matrix . This conclusion means that the use of a GHO basis provides both a localised bonding picture and simultaneously a theoretical validation of the VSEPR rules. Thus, it is not necessary, for example, to contrast the hybrid method and the VSEPR method for molecular geometries (30) they are complementary. 

Therefore, the central carbon atom is in a state of sp3 hybridisation, but when it is stabilized by declocatization, the hybridization becomes, sp2 for effective resonance. 

Hybridisation is the process of mixing atomic orbitals within an atom to generate a set of new atomic orbitals called hybrid orbitals. In the case of a carbon atom, the one 2s orbital can mix with the three 2p orbitals to form four hybrid orbitals known as sp hybrid orbitals. 

Hybridisation is the process of mixing atomic orbitais within an atom to form a set of degenerate hybrid orbitais. 

We have already explained. In terms of hybridisation, how a carbon atom can form four sp hybrid orbitals (see p. 47). We can apply this concept to explain the bonding in alkanes. Ethane is taken as an example of a typical alkane. The four sp hybrid orbitals on each carbon atom will overlap end-on with four other orbitals three hydrogen Is orbitals and one sp hybrid orbital on the other carbon atom. Four cr bonds will be formed and they will adopt a tetrahedral arrangement. This is illustrated for ethane in the diagram. 

As well as exhibiting sp and sp hybridisation, carbon can also be sp hybridised. Here, the 2s orbital mixes with one of the 2p orbitals to generate two degenerate sp hybrid orbitals. The remaining two 2p orbitals are left unhybrldised. 

To minimise repulsion, the angle between the two sp hybrid orbitals will be 180°. We can consider ethyne (C H ), in which both carbon atoms are sp hybridised. Each carbon atom uses its two sp hybrid orbitals to form a bonds with a hydrogen atom and with the other carbon atom. The unhybridised 2p orbitals left on the carbon atoms overlap side-on to form two ji bonds. 

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