University12 min

MO diagrams: bond order, bond length, magnetism

Read an MO diagram to predict what ionisation does to a bond: bond order, length, energy and magnetic moment, from O₂⁺ to peroxide.

The essentials

1

Reading an MO diagram

The AOs of the two atoms on the sides, the MOs in the centre, joined by lines to the AOs they come from. Bonding MOs below the AOs, antibonding ones (σ\sigma^*, π\pi^*) above, non-bonding ones (nn) at the same energy as the parent AO. Filling: increasing energy, Pauli, then Hund in degenerate levels.
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Bond order

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3

Order, length, energy

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4

Ionising: it all depends on the MO involved

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5

The spin-only magnetic moment

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ƒWrite my own sheetOr start from a blank page: rewriting a concept in your own words is how it sticks.