In defense of the hybrid atomic orbitals

Philippe C. Hiberty*, François Volatron, Sason Shaik

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

23 Scopus citations

Abstract

At variance with some opinions recently published as a commentary in this Journal, we show that the arguments used against the hybrid atomic orbital model are fundamentally wrong. In fact, the hybrid atomic orbital model correctly describes electron density and molecular properties in full agreement with experiment. The usefulness of this model is emphasized, and hints are suggested to teach it to students in the framework of the molecular orbital theory.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)575-577
Number of pages3
JournalJournal of Chemical Education
Volume89
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 10 Apr 2012

Keywords

  • Covalent bonding
  • First-year undergraduate/general
  • Lewis structures
  • Misconceptions/discrepant events
  • MO theory
  • Physical chemistry
  • Quantum chemistry
  • Upper-division undergraduate
  • Valence bond theory
  • VSEPR theory

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'In defense of the hybrid atomic orbitals'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this