Quantum mechanics inorganic chemistry

Sharpe, A. G. (1992). Inorganic Chemistry. Longman, New York. Chapter 2 presents a good account of the development of the quantum mechanical way of doing things in chemistry. 

In order to systematize the procedures and basic premises of quantum mechanics, a set of postulates has been developed that provides the usual starting point for studying the topic. Most books on quantum mechanics give a precise set of rules and interpretations, some of which are not necessary for the study of inorganic chemistry at this level. In this section, we will present the postulates of quantum mechanics and provide some interpretation of them, but for complete coverage of this topic the reader should consult a quantum mechanics text such as those listed in the references at the end of this chapter. 

In this chapter, a brief review of quantum mechanical methods and the arrangement of electrons in atoms has been presented. These topics form the basis for understanding how quantum mechanics is applied to problems in molecular structure and the chemical behavior of the elements. The properties of atoms discussed in Chapter 1 are directly related to how the electrons are arranged in atoms. Although the presentation in this chapter is not exhaustive, it provides an adequate basis for the study of topics in inorganic chemistry. Further details can be found in the references. 

A review of research on the application of quantum mechanics to heterogeneous reactions is outside the scope of this article. Thus, the readers are referred to sources such as Surface Science, Vol. 156, which contains the proceedings of the Third International Meeting on Small Particles and Inorganic Clusters, Berlin, West Germany, July 9-13, 1984, and Supercomputer Research in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, ACS Symposium Series No. 353, 1987. 

This book is divided into four parts. Part I provides a theoretical derivation of the bond valence model. The concept of a localized ionic bond appears naturally in this development which can be used to derive many of its properties. The remaining properties, those dependent on quantum mechanics, are, as in the traditional ionic model, fitted empirically. Part II describes how the model provides a natural approach to understanding inorganic chemistry while Part 111 shows how the limitations of three-dimensional space lead to new and unexpected properties appearing in the inorganic chemistry of solids. Finally, Part IV explores applications of the model in disciplines as different as condensed matter physics and biology. The final chapter examines the relationship between the bond valence model and other models of chemical bonding. 

Inorganic chemistry draws its strength from its great practical utility, and this book presents the subject from the standpoint of applications rather than the customary one of quantum mechanical bonding theory. Since the quintessential subject matter is the properties of the 112 known chemical elements and their compounds, we begin with a consideration of the availability of the commonest elements in the Earth s crust (Table 1.1), hydrosphere (i.e., oceans, lakes, rivers, snowfields, ice caps, and glaciers), and atmosphere, along with brief summary of the production and uses of these elements and their compounds. 

Atomic structure is fundamental to inorganic chemistry, perhaps more so even than organic chemistry because or the variety or elements and their electron configurations that must be dealt with. It will be assumed that readers will have brought with them from earlier courses some knowledge oT quantum mechanical concepts such as the wave equation, the particle-in-a-box. and atomic spectroscopy. 

PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY. Application of the concepts and laws of physics to chemical phenomena in order to describe in quantitative (mathematical) terms a vast amount of empirical (observational) information. A selection of only the most important concepts of physical chemistiy would include the electron wave equation and the quantum mechanical interpretation of atomic and molecular structure, the study of the subatomic fundamental particles of matter. Application of thermodynamics to heats of formation of compounds and the heats of chemical reaction, the theory of rate processes and chemical equilibria, orbital theory and chemical bonding. surface chemistry (including catalysis and finely divided particles) die principles of electrochemistry and ionization. Although physical chemistry is closely related to both inorganic and organic chemistry, it is considered a separate discipline. See also Inorganic Chemistry and Organic Chemistry. 

Contents Quantum Mechanics and Atomic Theory. - Simple Molecular Orbital Theory. -Structural Applications of Molecular Orbital Theory. - Electronic Spectra and Magnetic Properties of Inorganic Compounds. - Alternative Methods and Concepts. - Mechanism and Reactivity. - Descriptive Chemistry. - Physical and Spectroscopic Methods. - Appendices. -Subject Index. 

Among the countless concepts that Linus Pauling introduced from Quantum Mechanics into chemistry[l,2], and that became standard principles of the trade, there is the idea of hybridization . In the framework of the valence-bond description of a system, it is useful to mix atomic orbitals of the same n-quantum number , or of similar spatial extent, to construct directed, asymmetric atomic contributions. Although hybrids are not needed in an LCAO-MO description of the system, they have so much become part of the language of both organic and inorganic chemistry, that people will go out of their way to arrive at descriptions that are compatible with them. 

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