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A fresh approach to a central concept in chemistry

May 6th, 2015
A fresh approach to a central concept in chemistry: Orbitals
Figure 2.4. The angular wavefunctions for the atomic d orbitals. Credit: World Scientific, 2015

Which concept lies at the heart of chemists' understanding of structure and reactivity? It is surely orbitals, which underpin our interpretation of organic, inorganic and quantum chemistry.

Published World Scientific, "Orbitals: With Applications in Atomic Spectra (http://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/P929 )" describes atomic orbitals at a level suitable for undergraduates in chemistry. The mathematical treatment is brought to life by many illustrations rendered from mathematical functions (no artists' impressions), including three-dimensional plots of angular functions, showing orbital phase, and contour plots of the wavefunctions that result from orbital hybridisation.

"Orbitals" extends the key fundamental quantum properties to many-electron atoms, linear combinations of atomic orbitals, simple molecules, delocalised systems and atomic spectroscopy. By focusing on simple model systems, use of analogies and avoiding group theory the results are obtained from initial postulates without the need for sophisticated mathematics.

The curious chemistry student who wants to know the origin of orbitals may be unsatisfied by those texts that gloss over the detail and just present the final results, while also finding advanced quantum texts impenetrable. This book aims to satisfy that curiosity by explaining the mathematical background in detail and relating the theory of orbitals to observed chemical properties.

  • A fresh approach to a central concept in chemistry: Orbitals
    Figure 2.12. Probability density for the H atom 2s and 3dxy orbitals in the xy-plane. Credit: World Scientific, 2015
  • A fresh approach to a central concept in chemistry: Orbitals

Provided by World Scientific Publishing

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