Abstract
The structure and bonding of the hydrides of boron, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen are described using the concepts of the valence state and hybrid atomic orbitals. The tetrahedral arrangement of orbitals in CH4, NH3 and H2O is explained. A rationalization is proposed for the unique bridged structure of diborane B2H6.
Highlights
The simplest hydrides of boron, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen provide an elementary picture of atomic orbitals, hybridization and chemical bonding, which can be very instructive for beginning chemistry students [1]
The carbon atom with the four singly-occupied tetrahedral hybrids is in what can be designated as its "valence state," a construct introduced independently by J
Except when four identical atoms bond to the central atom, the hybrids are slightly distorted from a perfect tetrahedral shape
Summary
The simplest hydrides of boron, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen provide an elementary picture of atomic orbitals, hybridization and chemical bonding, which can be very instructive for beginning chemistry students [1]. A further transformation, first suggested by Linus Pauling[2] is the linear combination of the nearly degenerate 2s and three 2p orbitals into four identically-shaped hybrid orbitals, directed toward the corners of a tetrahedron. These are called sp3-hybrid orbitals, which can be designated t1, t2, t3, and t4. The carbon atom with the four singly-occupied tetrahedral hybrids is in what can be designated as its "valence state," a construct introduced independently by J.
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