Question

For ${\mathrm{O}}_2$ and ${\mathrm{N}}_2$_, write electronic configuration.

Answer 1

Molecular Orbital Theory (MOT): In molecular orbital theory, electrons in a molecule are not assigned to individual chemical bonds between atoms but are treated as moving under the influence of the atomic nuclei in the whole molecule.

According to molecular orbital theory, the Molecular Orbital Energy Diagram for Oxygen (${\mathrm{O}}_2$) is:

So, the electronic configuration of ${\mathrm{O}}_2$ is $\mathrm{\sigma }1{\mathrm{s}}^2\mathrm{\sigma }*1{\mathrm{s}}^2\mathrm{\sigma }2{\mathrm{s}}^2\mathrm{\sigma }*2{\mathrm{s}}^2\mathrm{\sigma }2{\mathrm{pz}}^2\mathrm{\pi }2{\mathrm{px}}^2\mathrm{\pi }2{\mathrm{py}}^2\mathrm{\pi }*2{\mathrm{px}}^1\mathrm{\pi }*2{\mathrm{py}}^1$

The Molecular Orbital Energy Diagram for Nitrogen (${\mathrm{N}}_2$) is:

So, the electronic configuration of ${\mathrm{N}}_2$ is $\mathrm{\sigma }1{\mathrm{s}}^2\mathrm{\sigma }*1{\mathrm{s}}^2\mathrm{\sigma }2{\mathrm{s}}^2\mathrm{\sigma }*2{\mathrm{s}}^2\mathrm{\pi }2{\mathrm{px}}^2\mathrm{\pi }2{\mathrm{py}}^2\mathrm{\sigma }2{\mathrm{pz}}^2$