Orbital hybridisation

Orbital hybridisation is a model in which atomic orbitals on one atom combine mathematically to form hybrid orbitals. It describes directional bonding and molecular geometry in many molecules.

Atomic orbital: A mathematical description of an electron’s spatial state in an atom. Hybridisation combines atomic orbitals on the same atom.
Electron configuration: The distribution of electrons among an atom’s shells, subshells, and orbitals. It identifies the valence orbitals considered for hybridisation.
Methane: The simplest alkane, with formula CH4 and a tetrahedral arrangement of four C–H bonds. Its equivalent bonds are classically described using four carbon sp3 hybrids.
Molecular orbital theory: A theory that describes electrons in orbitals extending across an entire molecule. It contrasts with hybridisation’s localized, atom-centered bonding picture.
Linear combination of atomic orbitals: A method that represents a molecular orbital as a weighted sum of atomic orbitals. Hybrid orbitals are constructed as linear combinations of atomic orbitals.
Valence electron: An electron in an atom’s outermost shell that can participate in chemical bonding. Hybridisation models the orbitals associated with an atom’s bonding electrons.
Ethene: An unsaturated hydrocarbon, C2H4, whose two carbon atoms are joined by a double bond. Each carbon is described as sp2 hybridised, with p orbitals forming the pi bond.
Valence shell electron pair repulsion theory: A model that predicts molecular shape from repulsions between electron domains around a central atom. It predicts many geometries without requiring hybrid orbital assignments.
Valence bond theory: A theory of chemical bonding that describes bonds through overlap of localized atomic orbitals. Hybridisation is commonly used within this account of localized bonds.
s orbital: An atomic orbital with spherical spatial symmetry about the nucleus. Its contribution changes the shape and energy of the resulting hybrids.

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