Question

For bond that's formed between two identical atoms, I naively understand that one molecular orbital is a bonding orbital and the other is an antibonding one, and I believe they have to do with the superposition of the atoms' wavefunctions to constructively or destructively interfere.

For metal lattices (without any impurities), there's a lot more than a combination of two atoms' wavefunctions. I've heard of the conduction and valence band, which I believe are molecular orbitals of constructively and deconstructively interfering wavefunctions. I'm wondering, if you look for thinner bands between these two, would they look like wave interference pattern? (like a two-slit experiment) If they do, could I treat the the valence band as a principal maximima and the conduction band as a principal maxima?

Is this even a coherent question, or is my current understanding of molecular orbitals in solids very very wrong?

Answer 1

In a solid, the combination of atomic orbitals on different atoms forms bonding and antibonding molecular orbitals, which result in the valence and conduction bands. The valence and conduction bands in a solid can exhibit a wave interference pattern, similar to the principal maxima in a two-slit experiment.

Step-by-step explanation:

In a solid, the combination of atomic orbitals on different atoms forms molecular orbitals. When valence atomic orbitals combine, bonding and antibonding orbitals are created. The bonding orbitals have mostly in-phase atomic orbitals and form the valence band, while the antibonding orbitals have mostly out-of-phase atomic orbitals and form the conduction band.

These bands are closely spaced, and the allowed energy levels in each band result in a band structure. The valence and conduction bands in a solid can be thought of as principal maxima, similar to a wave interference pattern in a two-slit experiment.