To hybridize or not to hybridize? This is the dilemma

Sason Shaik*, David Danovich, Philippe C. Hiberty

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

A general approach to hybridization, without imposing orthogonality of the hybrids of the central atom, is formulated. It is shown that the overlapping hybrids follow the rules of electronegativity of the central atom, and they increase with the increase of electronegativity (e.g. NH4 + > CH4 > BH4 ). For a given electronegativity, the hybrid-hybrid overlap decreases as the number of equivalent bonds increases (e.g., CH4 < CH3 +, CH2 2+). Having the hybrid-hybrid overlap enables us to deduce the promotion energy invested by the various atoms to form the molecule; the larger the overlap the smaller the degree of hybridization, and the lesser is the promotion energy needed from the central atom to achieve maximum bonding. The approach is applied to the dicarbon molecule, C2. It is shown that after taking into account the promotion energy (∼46 kcal mol−1 per C), C2 exhibits a quadruple bond.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)242-249
Number of pages8
JournalComputational and Theoretical Chemistry
Volume1116
DOIs
StatePublished - 15 Sep 2017

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Elsevier B.V.

Keywords

  • Hybridization
  • Non-orthogonal orbitals
  • Valence-bond theory

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'To hybridize or not to hybridize? This is the dilemma'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this