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Chemistry · Glossary

What is Bonding and antibonding orbitals?

Also known as: bonding orbital · antibonding orbital · nonbonding orbital

Definition 14.4 University Chemistry — Year 2 · Chapter 14 — Molecular Orbitals of Diatomic Molecules

A bonding orbital lies below the atomic orbitals it is made of: its electron density accumulates between the nuclei. An antibonding orbital lies above them and has a nodal plane between the nuclei. A nonbonding orbital keeps the energy of the atomic orbital, which finds no partner to combine with.

Molecular orbital diagrams of H2 (bond order 1) and He2 (bond order 0, not bound). Each box is a level holding at most two electrons of opposite spins; dashed lines join each molecular orbital to the atomic orbitals it is built from. Molecular orbital diagrams of H2 (bond order 1) and He2 (bond order 0, not bound). Each box is a level holding at most two electrons of opposite spins; dashed lines join each molecular orbital to the atomic orbitals it is built from.
Molecular orbital diagrams of HX2\ce{H2} (bond order 1) and HeX2\ce{He2} (bond order 0, not bound). Each box is a level holding at most two electrons of opposite spins; dashed lines join each molecular orbital to the atomic orbitals it is built from.
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