The result is that carbon forms bonds immediately (sp 3 hybridization) while releasing a large amount of energy. However, going from the half-filled to completely filled p sublevel requires low activation energy. The two unpaired electron forms a stable bonding pair.Ī carbon atom has 4 electrons with ground state valence electron configuration of 2s 2 2p 2, which is half filled. It will react with another hydrogen atom to form a hydrogen molecule. Let us look at a few examples to illustrate this point.Ī hydrogen atom has only one electron in its 1s orbital. An atom reacts with another atom and forms a bond, resulting in the stability of the individual atoms. Unpaired electrons without any other electrons in the same sublevel < unpaired with all degenerate orbitals of the same sublevel half-filled < filled set of orbitalsĪ simple explanation for reactivity is that it increases with the ease of donating or accepting electrons. Keeping the principle and azimuthal quantum numbers constant, the order of stability of electrons from least to greatest is as follows: We know that a set of quantum numbers designates an electron. Let us look into valence bond theory to understand how atoms achieve stability during chemical bonding. The reactivity of an atom arises from the existence of unpaired electrons in the valence shell of that atom.
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