The Orbital Picture for Bound Electrons

Abstract

The primary purpose of this book is to develop for the non-theoretically oriented chemist a pictorial approach to molecular orbitals. To accomplish this goal we consider in this chapter and Chapter 2 the fundamental properties of electrons and orbitals which are required for the introduction of “generator orbitals.” Generator orbitals (which will be defined later) constitute the tool with which the three-dimensional visualization of molecular orbitals is achieved in subsequent chapters. We will see that the vibrational modes of molecules are also easily visualized with this approach. After we apply the generator orbital concept in Chapter 3 to bonding and to vibrational motion in diatomics, we will apply this concept for the same purposes to more complex polyatomic molecules possessing a variety of geometrical shapes.