Question

Comment upon the statement: A fully filled orbital can participate in bonding.

Short answer

Generally, fully filled orbitals do not participate in bonding as they are stable and cannot accept more electrons. However, under certain conditions like during the formation of coordination compounds, an electron can be excited to an unfilled orbital which can then engage in bonding.

Step-by-step solution

Understanding Orbitals

Orbitals are regions of space around a nucleus where electrons are most likely to be found. Each orbital can hold up to two electrons. Orbitals can be classified into s, p, d, and f types.

Concept of Fully Filled Orbitals

A fully filled orbital is one that contains the maximum number of electrons that it can hold. For example, a 2p orbital is fully filled when it contains six electrons.

Participation of Fully Filled Orbitals in Bonding

Typically, partially filled orbitals (those orbitals which are not completely filled) participate in bonding because they can accommodate more electrons. A completely filled orbital does not readily participate in bonding, because it is already stable and has no room to accept more electrons.

Exceptions to the Rule

However, under certain conditions, fully filled orbitals can participate in bonding. This usually happens when elements go through excitation, where an electron from a filled orbital is excited to an unfilled orbital. Then, this unfilled orbital can participate in bonding. An example of this is seen in the formation of coordination compounds.

Key concepts

Orbital Types

When we talk about orbitals, we refer to the distinct regions where electrons are most likely to be found around an atom's nucleus. These orbitals come in various shapes and sizes, primarily classified as s, p, d, and f orbitals. Each type of orbital can hold a different number of electrons due to its shape and energy level.

• s orbitals: Spherical in shape; can hold up to 2 electrons.
• p orbitals: Dumbbell-shaped; can hold up to 6 electrons across three sub-orbitals.
• d orbitals: More complex in shape, often cloverleaf; can accommodate up to 10 electrons spread over five sub-orbitals.
• f orbitals: Even more intricate, capable of holding 14 electrons across seven sub-orbitals.

By understanding these orbital types, we can predict how and why atoms will interact with one another to form chemical bonds.

Bonding Participation

The participation of orbitals in chemical bonding is fundamentally linked to their electron occupancy. In general, it's the partially filled orbitals that engage in forming bonds. These orbitals are not completely occupied, making them eager to share or accept electrons to achieve stability.

• Atoms with partially filled orbitals can accept additional electrons or share electrons with other atoms.
• Fully filled orbitals tend to be stable and are less likely to participate in bonding without a specific reason.

Thus, knowing whether an orbital is fully or partially filled can give us insights about an element’s bonding behavior.

Exceptions in Bonding Involving Filled Orbitals

Even though filled orbitals generally hesitate to enter into bonding due to their stability, there are exceptional circumstances when they do take part. This usually occurs through processes like electron excitation. For example:

• Electron Excitation: Electrons from filled orbitals can become excited and move to higher energy levels or different orbitals, creating available spaces in the original orbital for bonding.
• Coordination Compounds: Often involve the participation of filled orbitals in bonding, particularly involving transition metals that can exhibit these unique behaviors.

These exceptions are important to understand because they enable the formation of complex structures like coordination compounds where the usual rules may not directly apply.

Electron Excitation

Electron excitation is a fascinating process where electrons absorb energy and transition to a higher energy level, or orbital. This can sometimes be seen in otherwise stable atoms with fully filled orbitals.

• The energy absorption can happen in various ways, including the absorption of light photons or thermal energy.
• Once excited, an electron can leave its filled orbital, making it partially filled and thus more reactive.

This phenomenon is crucial in chemical reactions, as it allows atoms to bond in ways they couldn't under normal conditions. This process is the last key to enabling normally reluctant filled orbitals to engage in bonding.

Coordination Compounds

Coordination compounds are intricate structures that involve central atoms—often metals—surrounded by molecules or ions, known as ligands. These compounds are a classic example of exceptions in bonding involving filled orbitals.

• The central metal atom or ion typically uses orbitals, including possibly filled ones, to coordinate with ligands through coordinate covalent bonds.
• Electron excitation can play a notable role here, as the excited orbitals provide openings for these coordinating interactions.

The understanding of coordination compounds is vital, as it expands the scope of how and when filled orbitals can contribute to the formation of new chemical structures, often with significant applications in fields like chemistry and materials science.