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What are the characteristics of bonding antibonding molecular orbitals?
Posted February 22, 2024

Answer

Antibonding molecular orbitals (ABMOs) with their higher energy levels and reduced stability result from the repulsion between electrons in the orbitals. This repulsion occurs due to the subtractive overlap of atomic orbitals during their formation. Unlike bonding molecular orbitals, the probability of locating electrons in the internuclear region decreases in antibonding molecular orbitals, contributing to repulsive forces between two atoms. The spatial configuration of ABMOs doesn't provide information about geometry or molecular shape. The nodal plane between the two parent atoms (where electron density is minimal) causes a molecular orbital to be termed antibonding. This alteration in electron sign from positive to negative in the nodal plane characterizes the orbital as antibonding concerning the two atoms involved. In molecular orbital diagrams, antibonding orbitals are often denoted with an asterisk (*).