Question
Chemistry Question on Chemical bonding and molecular structure
According to MO theory, the molecule which contain only π-Bonds between the atoms is
C2
N2
O2
B2
C2
Solution
The correct option is: (A): C2.
Molecular Orbital (MO) theory is a model used to describe the electronic structure of molecules by considering the interactions between atomic orbitals to form molecular orbitals. In the context of π-bonds, we need to look at the arrangement of p-orbitals, which are typically involved in forming π-bonds.
A π-bond is formed by the overlap of two parallel p-orbitals. It's important to note that π-bonds are commonly found in molecules with multiple bonds, especially double and triple bonds.
The molecule C2 refers to a diatomic carbon molecule, which consists of two carbon atoms. Carbon has an atomic number of 6, and its electron configuration is 1s² 2s² 2p². When two carbon atoms come together to form a C2 molecule, their atomic orbitals combine to form molecular orbitals.
In C2, the atomic p-orbitals from each carbon atom overlap to create two molecular orbitals:
σ Molecular Orbital (σ MO) : This molecular orbital is formed by the head-to-head overlap of the two 2p_z atomic orbitals. It's a bonding orbital and represents the σ-bond in the molecule.
π Molecular Orbital (π MO) : This molecular orbital is formed by the parallel side-to-side overlap of the remaining 2p_x and 2p_y atomic orbitals. It's a bonding orbital and represents the π-bond in the molecule.
Since C2 molecule contains only π-bonds between the atoms (formed by the overlap of 2p_x and 2p_y orbitals), the answer "C2" is justified.