molecular orbitals

A covalent bond is formed by the overlap of two atomic orbitals. Each atomic orbital contains a single
electron, and the two electrons must be of opposite spin. The two atomic orbitals form a molecular
orbital containing the shared pair of electrons. The greater the degree of overlap between the two
atomic orbitals the stronger the covalent bond.
Each H atom has one 1s orbital containing one electron
hydrogen

1s orbital 1s orbital
molecular orbital

H2

A single covalent bond is a bond. It is strong because there is a large electron density between the
nuclei.

fluorine
Each F atom has two full 2p
orbitals and one 2p orbital
containing one electron. The
half-filled p orbital of each
atom is available for bonding.

2p orbital
molecular orbital

2p orbital

F2

hydrogen fluoride

H
1s orbital

HF
molecular orbital

2p orbital

A sigma molecular orbital is formed by the head-on overlap of either

1) two s orbitals
2) two p orbitals
3) a p and an s orbital

oxygen

Each O atom has a full 2p orbital which is unavailable for

bonding. There are two half-filled p orbitals in each atom
but only one of these can overlap head-on to form a
bond. This leaves a p orbital in each atom at right angles
to the bond:

The p orbital at right

angles to the bond in
each atom can overlap
sideways to form a
bond:

A molecular orbital has an electron density above and

below the line joining the nuclei so is not as strong as a
molecular orbital. A molecular orbital can only be formed
where there is already a orbital. The orbital is in two
parts which are not joined, and the two electrons in it
alternate between the two parts.
A double bond consists of a and a . It is stronger than a
single bond because the bond adds some strength, but is
not twice as strong since the is weaker than the .

nitrogen

Each N atom has three half-filled 2p orbitals. One

from each atom overlaps head-on to form the
molecular orbital in the middle. The p orbitals above
and below form a molecular orbital above and
below. The p orbitals in front and behind form a
molecular orbital in front and behind.

A triple bond therefore consists of a and

two orbitals. It is written as

but the three bonds are not identical.

A triple bond is stronger than a double, but
is less than three times the strength of a
single.