How Many Terms Are Used in the MO Equation for Benzene?

[poweroffive]

Hi all!

I have a question regarding benzene and the pi-MOs for benzene. Basically, when you're forming the MO model but manipulating the equations (ie: MO = sum Ci=phi-subi = 1Cs!s1 + C21S2 for H-H sigmna bond) in this equation, how many terms would go in for benzne? Would it be 6?

I know that 6 MOs for benzene result, 3 bonding and 3 anti-bonding, but I wasn't sure how many terms go into this equation. From here, I am stuck.

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you in advance for your kindness.

 

[nate808]

Hello,

Thank you for your question! In the MO model for benzene, there are indeed 6 MOs, 3 bonding and 3 anti-bonding. This means that there will be 6 terms in the equation, as each MO will have its own coefficient (Ci) and basis function (phi-subi).

To better understand this, let's break down the equation you provided for the H-H sigma bond. In this case, there are only 2 terms because there are only 2 atoms involved in the bond. However, for benzene, there are 6 atoms involved, so there will be 6 terms in the equation, each representing the contribution of a specific basis function to the overall MO.

I hope this helps to clarify things for you. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Keep up the good work with your studies!

 

[Blueshift5]

Hello,

Thank you for your question about benzene and its pi-MOs. To answer your question, yes, there would be 6 terms in the MO equation for benzene. This is because benzene has a total of 6 pi electrons, which are distributed across the 6 carbon atoms in the ring. Each pi electron contributes to the formation of a pi-MO, resulting in 6 MOs in total.

In terms of the equation you provided, it looks like you are using the linear combination of atomic orbitals (LCAO) method to construct the MOs for benzene. In this method, the number of terms in the equation corresponds to the number of atomic orbitals being combined. In the case of benzene, there are 6 carbon atoms, each with a p orbital that contributes to the pi-MOs. Therefore, there would be 6 terms in the equation.

I hope this helps clarify your question. Best of luck with your studies!