Question Description
I’m working on a chemistry multi-part question and need guidance to help me understand better.
Although the hydroxyl radical (OH) is present only in trace amounts in the atmosphere, it plays an important role in atmospheric chemistry because it is a strong oxidant and can react with many pollutants. Assume that the radical is analogous to the HF molecule (MO diagram below) and that the molecular orbitals result from overlap of one of the oxygen 2p and hydrogen 1s orbitals.
Consider the images of the molecular orbitals below:
1. Which MO image represents the ? (bonding) molecular orbital for OH?
2. Which MO image represents the ?* (antibonding) molecular orbitals for OH?
3. Which of the molecular orbitals, 2. or 4., in the MO diagram has more hydrogen character?
4. Estimate the bond order of OH.
