HYBRIDIZATION OF ATOMIC

ORBITALS (Inorganic Molecules)

A Lecture Prepared by:

LEONISA O. BERNARDO, Ph.D.

 HYBRIDIZATION
Hybridization is commonly applied or observed in
plants and animals.
 Hybridization of s and p Orbitals
• For elements in the 2nd row of the
Periodic Table, s and p orbitals are
involved in the hybridization concept.

• Formation of molecules with linear,

trigonal planar and tetrahedral
geometries can be explained by the
hybridization of s and p orbitals.
 sp Hybridization
Consider BeCl2:
▪ The orbital diagram for the
valence electron in Be is

▪ A 2s electron is promoted to
a 2p orbital, resulting in

▪ The 2s and 2p orbitals must

be mixed or hybridized to
form two equivalent sp
hybrid orbitals.
one s orbital + one p orbitals = two sp hybrid orbitals

The two sp hybrid orbitals overlap with the two 3p

orbitals of chlorine to form two covalent bonds.
 sp2 Hybridization
Consider BF3:
▪ The orbital diagram for the
valence electron in B is

▪ A 2s electron is promoted to
a 2p orbital, resulting in

▪ The 2s and two 2p orbitals

must be mixed or hybridized
to form three equivalent sp2
hybrid orbitals.
one s orbital + two p orbitals = three sp2 hybrid orbitals
 sp3 Hybridization
Consider CH4:
▪ The orbital diagram for the
valence electron in C is

▪ A 2s electron is promoted to
a 2p orbital, resulting in

▪ The 2s and three 2p orbitals

must be mixed or hybridized
to form four equivalent sp3
hybrid orbitals.
one s orbital + three p orbitals = four sp3 hybrid orbitals
Let us pause our discussion and visualize the concept
of hybridization by watching a video.

• Valence Bond Theory is applied in

hybridization of orbitals. To better understand
VB Theory and visualize the hybridization of s
and p orbitals with animation, watch this in
youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEYSXrEhe
EU
 Hybridization of s, p, and d Orbitals
• For elements in the 3rd row of the
Periodic Table and beyond, d orbital must
be included in the hybridization concept.

• Formation of molecules with trigonal

bipyramidal and octahedral geometries
can be explained by the hybridization of
s, p, and d orbitals.
Hybridization of Atomic orbitals in
TRIGONAL BIPYRAMIDAL
Example: PCl5 P
15 = 1s 2
2s 2
2p 6
3s 2
3p 3

5 valence electrons

One 3s electron is promoted to the empty 3d orbital

One 3s + three 3p + one 3d orbitals are hybridized

• The five P-Cl bonds are formed by the overlap of the
sp3d hybrid orbitals of the P atom and the 2p orbitals
of the Cl atoms.
• Since there are 10 electrons around the P atom, the
octet rule is exceeded.
• The use of d orbitals in addition to s and p orbitals to
form covalent bonds is an example of valence-shell
expansion, which corresponds to the expanded octet.
Hybridization of Atomic orbitals in
OCTAHEDRAL
Example: SF6 S
16 = 1s 2
2s 2
2p 6
3s 2
3p4

6 valence electrons

One 3s and one 3p electrons are promoted to

the empty 3d orbital

One 3s + three 3p + two 3d orbitals are hybridized

Hybridization of one s orbital, three p orbitals (px, py, & pz) and
two d orbitals (dz2 & dx2-y2) forms six sp3d2 hybrid orbitals in
octahedral arrangement and separated by 900 angle.
• The six S-F bonds are formed by the overlap of
the sp3d2 hybrid orbitals of the S atom and the
2p orbitals of the F atoms.
• Since there are 12 electrons around the S
atom, the octet rule is again exceeded.
 SUMMARY
Hybridization is based on the following
assumptions:
• The concept of hybridization is not applied to isolated
atoms. It is used only to explain the bonding scheme
in a molecule.
• Hybridization is the mixing of at least two
nonequivalent atomic orbitals, for example, s and p
orbitals. Therefore, a hybrid orbital is not pure atomic
orbital. Hybrid orbitals have different shapes from
pure atomic orbitals.
• The number of hybrid orbitals generated is equal to
the number of pure atomic orbitals that participate in
the hybridization process.
• Hybridization requires an input of energy;
however, the system more than recovers this
energy during bond formation.
• Covalent bonds in polyatomic molecules are
formed by the overlap of hybrid orbitals, or of
hybrid orbitals with unhybridized ones.
Therefore, the hybridization bonding scheme is
still within the framework of valence bond
theory; electrons in a molecule are assumed to
occupy hybrid orbitals of the individual atoms.
SUMMARY
THANK YOU!