How do pi bonds work?
1 Answer
Jun 5, 2016
ORBITAL PERSPECTIVE
Pi (
Either way, this overlap can either be in-phase or out-of-phase.
- The in-phase one (same colors overlapping) is lower in energy and is called the bonding
pi overlap. It generates api molecular orbital. - The out-of-phase one (opposite colors overlapping) is higher in energy and is called the antibonding
pi overlap. It generates api^"*" molecular orbital.
A double bond has one
sigma and onepi bond, while a triple bond has onesigma and twopi bonds.
MOLECULAR ORBITAL DIAGRAM PERSPECTIVE
The MO diagram depiction is:
where:
pi_(npx) is the bonding molecular orbital formed by the in-phase overlap of annp_x with annp_x atomic orbital.pi_(npy) is the bonding molecular orbital formed by the in-phase overlap of annp_y with annp_y atomic orbital.pi_(npx)^"*" is the antibonding molecular orbital formed by the out-of-phase overlap of annp_x with annp_x atomic orbital.pi_(npy)^"*" is the antibonding molecular orbital formed by the out-of-phase overlap of annp_y with annp_y atomic orbital.
We have three common ways that we can occupy the
- When the
pi molecular orbitals are filled but thepi^"*" ones are not, we have api bond. - When both kinds of molecular orbitals are filled, those electrons are nonbonding and are lone pairs.
- When neither kind of molecular orbital is filled, there is no lone pair or bond.
The