Bonding MO Definition:
The Bonding MO is the low-energy molecular orbital resulting from the constructive interference between atomic orbitals.
Bonding MO Explained:
Molecular orbitals are used to describe the role of electrons in an entire molecule. Many different electrons clouds are present in different molecules because of the different bonding. These electron clouds contain electrons that provide important information such as energy and reactivity. When in bonding state, the electors occupy the same orbital, i.e. there is no node between electrons. This means that the electrons are closer to the nuclei which in effect results in lower energies because of this stabilization action.
- The bonding MO has a positive value for the wavefunction.
- Also written as σ (for sigma bonds), the bonding MO is symmetric with respect to the middle point of the bond, this sometimes called symmetric.
Example – s- atomic orbital overlap (left), p-atomic orbital overlap (right). Note, both the overlaps represent sigma bonding. The p-orbitals can also be involved in pi-bonding, in which case the diagram must also show the pi-bonded molecular orbitals.
