Question

For the first ionization energy for an \({{\rm{N}}_2}\) molecule, what molecular orbital is the electron removed from?

Short answer

The electron will be removed from \({\sigma _{2px}}\)as it is the outermost valence molecular orbital.

Step-by-step solution

Definition of bonding molecular orbital

Bonding orbitals are used in molecular orbital theory (MO) to describe the attractive interactions between the atomic orbitals of two or more atoms in a molecule

Finding bond for H2

\({{\rm{N}}_2}\):

Molecular orbital configuration: \({\left( {{\sigma _(}1s} \right)^2}{\left( {{\sigma _{2s}}} \right)^2}{\left( {\sigma _{2s}^*} \right)^2}{\left( {{\pi _{2py}} \cdot {\pi _{2pz}}} \right)^4}{\left( {{\sigma _{2px}}} \right)^2}\)

The electron will be removed from \({\sigma _{2px}}\)as it is the outermost valence molecular orbital