Metallic bond molecular-orbital theory

Bonding in d-block metal complexes molecular orbital theory... 

The development of molecular orbital theory (MO theory) in the late 1920s overcame these difficulties. It explains why the electron pair is so important for bond formation and predicts that oxygen is paramagnetic. It accommodates electron-deficient compounds such as the boranes just as naturally as it deals with methane and water. Furthermore, molecular orbital theory can be extended to account for the structures and properties of metals and semiconductors. It can also be used to account for the electronic spectra of molecules, which arise when an electron makes a transition from an occupied molecular orbital to a vacant molecular orbital. 

There are two major theories of bonding in d-metal complexes. Crystal field theory was first devised to explain the colors of solids, particularly ruby, which owes its color to Cr3+ ions, and then adapted to individual complexes. Crystal field theory is simple to apply and enables us to make useful predictions with very little labor. However, it does not account for all the properties of complexes. A more sophisticated approach, ligand field theory (Section 16.12), is based on molecular orbital theory. 

Gas-surface interactions and reactions on surfaces play a crucial role in many technologically important areas such as corrosion, adhesion, synthesis of new materials, electrochemistry and heterogeneous catalysis. This chapter aims to describe the interaction of gases with metal surfaces in terms of chemical bonding. Molecular orbital and band structure theory are the basic tools for this. We limit ourselves to metals. 

A heterogeneous catalytic reaction begins with the adsorption of the reacting gases on the surface of the catalyst, where intramolecular bonds are broken or weakened. The Appendix explains how this happens on metals in terms of simplified molecular orbital theory. Next, the adsorbed species react on the surface, often in... 

The theory of band structures belongs to the world of solid state physicists, who like to think in terms of collective properties, band dispersions, Brillouin zones and reciprocal space [9,10]. This is not the favorite language of a chemist, who prefers to think in terms of molecular orbitals and bonds. Hoffmann gives an excellent and highly instructive comparison of the physical and chemical pictures of bonding [6], In this appendix we try to use as much as possible the chemical language of molecular orbitals. Before talking about metals we recall a few concepts from molecular orbital theory. 

Metals conduct electricity through conduction bands. Conduction bands arise from the application of Molecular Orbital theory to multi-atom systems. (See Chapter 10.) The bonding molecular orbitals and, sometimes, other molecular... 

Due to its importance in many industrial processes, the prototypical reaction of CO binding to metal surfaces has received much attention. Using Hiickel molecular orbital theory, Blyholder showed that CO bonding at top sites consists of the donation of electrons from the filled CO 5a HOMO to the metal d 2 orbitals with a back-donation of electrons from the metal dxz caddy orbitals to the CO 2n LUMO. Consequently,... 

Molecular orbital theory may provide an explanation for stereochemical differences between carboxylate-metal ion and phosphate-metal ion interactions. Detailed ab initio calculations demonstrate that the semipo-lar 1 0 double bond of RsP=0 is electronically different from the C=0 double bond, for example, as found in H2C=0 (Kutzelnigg, 1977 Wallmeier and Kutzelnigg, 1979). The P=0 double bond is best described as a partial triple bond, that is, as one full a bond and two mutually perpendicular half-7r bonds (formed by backbonding between the electrons of oxygen and the empty d orbitals of phosphorus). Given this situation, a lone electron pair should be oriented on oxygen nearly opposite the P=0 bond, and these molecular orbital considerations for P=0 may extend to the phosphinyl monoanion 0-P=0. If this extension is valid, then the electronic structure of 0-P=0 should not favor bidentate metal complexation by phosphate this is in accord with the results by Alexander et al. (1990). 

Mathematical treatments of metal-olefin bonding have been given, mainly in terms of molecular-orbital theory (22, 54, 73). 

Throughout the book, theoretical concepts and experimental evidence are integrated An introductory chapter summarizes the principles on which the Periodic Table is established and describes the periodicity of various atomic properties which are relevant to chemical bonding. Symmetry and group theory are introduced to serve as the basis of all molecular orbital treatments of molecules. This basis is then applied to a variety of covalent molecules with discussions of bond lengths and angles and hence molecular shapes. Extensive comparisons of valence bond theory and VSEPR theory with molecular orbital theory are included Metallic bonding is related to electrical conduction and semi-conduction. 

It is essential to have tools that allow studies of the electronic structure of adsorbates in a molecular orbital picture. In the following, we will demonstrate how we can use X-ray and electron spectroscopies together with Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations to obtain an understanding of the local electronic structure and chemical bonding of adsorbates on metal surfaces. The goal is to use molecular orbital theory and relate the chemical bond formation to perturbations of the orbital structure of the free molecule. This chapter is complementary to Chapter 4, which... 

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