Q42E - Chemistry (OpenStax)

Question

For the first ionization energy for an \({{\rm{N}}_2}\) molecule, what molecular orbital is the electron removed from?

Step-by-Step Solution

Answer

The electron will be removed from \({\sigma _{2px}}\)as it is the outermost valence molecular orbital.

Step 1: Definition of bonding molecular orbital

Bonding orbitals are used in molecular orbital theory (MO) to describe the attractive interactions between the atomic orbitals of two or more atoms in a molecule

Step 2: Finding bond for H 2

\({{\rm{N}}_2}\):

Molecular orbital configuration: \({\left( {{\sigma _(}1s} \right)^2}{\left( {{\sigma _{2s}}} \right)^2}{\left( {\sigma _{2s}^*} \right)^2}{\left( {{\pi _{2py}} \cdot {\pi _{2pz}}} \right)^4}{\left( {{\sigma _{2px}}} \right)^2}\)

The electron will be removed from \({\sigma _{2px}}\)as it is the outermost valence molecular orbital