Question

Suppose we supply enough energy to each of the two species H₂ and H₂ to remove one electron from the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of each. what will happen to the bond in each case? (input any fractional bond orders as a decimal.)

Answer 1

When energy is used to ionize H₂ to H₂+, the bond order decreases to 0.5, resulting in a longer and weaker H-H bond.

Step-by-step explanation:

When enough energy is supplied to remove one electron from the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of each H₂ and H₂, the bond order and the stability of these species change. For H₂, which originally has a bond order of 1, losing one electron means that the remaining electron is in the bonding molecular orbital, resulting in the formation of H₂+ with a bond order of 0.5.

This means that the bond in H₂+ is weaker and the bond length is longer compared to H₂. According to molecular orbital theory, filling the orbitals according to the Pauli principle and Hund's rule, we understand that a molecular orbital can hold two electrons, with both electrons in H₂ populating the 0₁s bonding orbital. However, in H₂+, only one electron occupies the 0₁s bonding orbital, affecting the bond energy and bond length.