The Chemical Bond: A Fundamental Quantum-mechanical Picture (springer Series In Chemical Physics)

Providing the quantum-mechanical foundations of chemical bonding, this unique textbook emphasizes key concepts such as superposition, degeneracy of states and the role of the electron spin. These quantum mechanical notions are usually oversimplified or meticulously circumvented in other books, to the frustration of serious readers who want to understand, for example, why two protons can be stably bound with only one electron to make the simplest molecule H 2 +. An initial, concise and compact presentation of the rudiments of quantum mechanics enables readers to progress through the back with a firm grounding. Experimental examples are included to illustrate how the abstract concepts are manifest in real systems. Front Matter....Pages I-XV The Electron: A Primadonna in Chemical Bonding....Pages 1-19 Fundamentals of Quantum Mechanics: A Prerequisite for Understanding the Chemical Bond....Pages 21-49 One-Electron Atoms: The Fundamental System....Pages 51-78 Multi-Electron Atoms: The Building Blocks that Produce the Tremendous Variety of Molecules....Pages 79-106 Born-Oppenheimer Approximation: Separation of Electronic Motion from Nuclear Motion in Chemical Bonding....Pages 107-112 The Hydrogen Molecular Ion: The Simplest, but the Most Fundamental System for Understanding Chemical Bonds....Pages 113-131 The Hydrogen Molecule: Why are Two Neutral Hydrogen Atoms Stabilized by Simply Approaching Each Other?....Pages 133-148 Polyatomic Molecules: Towards an Understanding of Chemical Bonds in Polyatomic Molecules....Pages 149-195 Back Matter....Pages 197-206 Providing the quantum-mechanical foundations of chemical bonding, this unique textbook emphasizes key concepts such as superposition, degeneracy of states and the role of the electron spin. An initial, concise and compact presentation of the rudiments of quantum mechanics enables readers to progress through the book with a firm grounding. Experimental examples are included to illustrate how the abstract concepts are manifest in real systems.