MOs in Inorganic Chemistry

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Molecular Orbitals in Inorganic Chemistry L5-L8

Course information:

All the information you need for this course will be accessible from this site.

use the sidebar to access specific lecture, workshop and other materials.

Need some help!

The recommended text for this course:

Group Theory for Chemists, Kieran C. Molloy, Harwood Publishing, Chichester, 2004.
Tutorials and homework form part of this course and are examinable. Extra reading material is associated with each lecture, this is entirely optional! However, if you want to find out still more please contact me, I can recommend a wider variety of texts, including those which cover material in more detail.

Check the questions answered list!

I will add questions that people ask me, along with my answers! here: Questions answered.

Ask your class mates and friends

This is good for you and them, teaching and explaining something really helps you understand it yourself. You could also get together with your friends and try to talk material through, discussing material is actually a good way to learn.

Ask your tutor

As usual, use your tutorial time to ask your tutor about any material you are having trouble with. Your tutor can also talk with you individually outside of tutorials, just ask!

Contact Me

I'm very happy to revceive questions!
Twitter for short questions or comments @quantumchemist #MO_lectures
Via e-mail for longer questions is good:
If a group of students are having problems I'm very happy to arrange a lunchtime tutorial. I'm also happy to send feedback via a pdf or word file (useful if you are from overseas and go home over christmas.)

Lecture 5

(updated for 2019)
  1. slides from the lecture for printing: pdf
  2. slides as presented in the lecture: high resolution pdf 9.6 MB
  3. slides as presented in the lecture: low resolution pdf 2.1 MB good for mobile devices
  4. notes from the lecture:pdf
  5. a link to the Panopto recording when it becomes available lecture 5
  6. model anwers
    • homework/tutorial/exam problems: pdf
  7. resources related to this lecture optional
    • extra notes on the octahedral point group symmetry operations pdf
    • Make your own oragami cube at home for visualising octahedral group symmetry elements
  8. extra reading related to this lecture optional
    • Chapter 13 "complexes with two metal atoms" from Metal-Ligand Bonding by Rob Janes and Elaine Moore, The Open University, Milton Keynes, 2004
    • Chapter 10: Ferrocene from Group Theory for Chemists for experts
    • Article in C&EN News (the American Chemical Society magazine) Sept 2005 on the M-M quintuple bond link
    • "Synthesis of a Stable Compound with Fivefold Bonding Between Two Chromium(I) Centers" by T. Nguyen, A.D. Sutton, M. Brynda, J.C. Fettinger, G.J. Long, P.P. Power, Science, 2005, 310(5749), p844-847 DOI:10.1126/science.1116789.
    • "Reaching the Maximum Multiplicity of the Covalent Chemical Bond" by B.O. Roos, A.C. Borin, and L. Gagliardi, Angewandte Chemie Int. Eng. Ed, 2007, 46, p1469-1472, DOI:10.1002/anie.200603600.
    • "Does the metal- metal sextuple bond exist in the bimetallic sandwich compounds Cr2(C6H6)2, Mo2(C6H6)2, and W2(C6H6)2?" by Z. Sun , H.F. Schaefer III, Y. Xie , Y. Liu & R. Zhong, Mol. Phys., 2013, 111(16-17), p2523-2535, DOI:10.1080/00268976.2013.798434.
    • linking molecular MO diagrams to solid state molecular orbitals: "How Chemistry and Physics Meet in the Solid State" by R. Hoffmann, Angewandte Chemie Int. Eng. Ed, 2003, 26(9), p846-878 DOI: 10.1002/anie.198708461.
    • MO diagrams for tetrahedral molecules: "The Shapes and Other Properties of Non-Transition Element Complexes. 2. AB4 by B.M. Gimarc and S.A. Khan, J. Am. Chem. Soc, 1978, 100(8), p2340-2345 DOI: 10.1021/ja00476a013 for experts

Lecture 6

(updated for 2019)
  1. slides from the lecture for printing: pdf
  2. slides as presented in the lecture: high resolution pdf 11.8 MB
  3. slides as presented in the lecture: low resolution pdf 2.3 MB mobile
  4. notes from the lecture:pdf
  5. a link to the Panopto recording when it becomes available waiting
  6. model answers
    • in class probems: pdf
    • self-study problems / exam preparation: pdf
  7. extra reading related to this lecture optional
    • Chapter 9 "Octahedral Complexes" from Group Theory for Chemists
    • Chapters 1-4 and Chapters 8-10, on Crystal field theory and MO theory of TM complexes from Metal-Ligand Bonding by Rob Janes and Elaine Moore, The Open University, Milton Keynes, 2004
    • Chapter 10: Coordination Chemistry II: Bonding Inorganic Chemistry (4th Edition) Gary Miessler and Donald Tar, Prentice Hall, Boston, 2011

Lecture 7

(updated for 2019)
  1. slides from the lecture for printing: pdf
  2. slides as presented in the lecture: high resolution pdf 12.1 MB
  3. slides as presented in the lecture: low resolution pdf 2.4 MB mobile
  4. notes from the lecture:pdf
  5. a link to the Panopto recording when it becomes available waiting
  6. model anwers
    • in class probems: pdf
    • self-study problems / exam preparation: pdf
    • hand-worked example for ML4X2 pdf (2015 students do not need to be able to generate the symmetry adapted orbitals)
  7. resources related to this lecture
    • view the MOs of trans-CoCl2(NH3)4 yourself, pop_cocl2nh3_trans_opt_freq.fchk. Your browser may try to treat this as a text file, remove the .txt extension and open in gaussview or Avagadro
    • more complicated than you might think, view the MOs of cis-CoCl2(NH3)4 yourself, pop_cocl2nh3_cis_opt_freq.fchk
    • more examples are available here, how to get Avagadro is also explained.
  8. extra reading related to this lecture optional
    • Metal-dihydrogen and σ-bond coordination: the consummate extension of the Dewar-Chatt-Duncanson model for metal-olefin π bonding by G.J. Kubas, J. Organomet. Chem., 2001, 635(1-2), p37-68 DOI: 10.1016/S0022-328X(01)01066-X
    • Metal-dioxygen and metal-dinitrogen complexes: where are the electrons? by P.L. Holland, Dalton Trans., 2010, 39, p5415-5425 DOI: 10.1039/C001397H

Lecture 8

(new 2019)
  1. slides from the lecture for printing: pdf
  2. slides as presented in the lecture: high resolution pdf 15MB
  3. slides as presented in the lecture: low resolution pdf 2.9MB good for mobile devices
  4. notes from the lecture:pdf
  5. a link to the Panopto recording when it becomes available waiting
  6. model anwers
    • in class probems: pdf
    • self-study problems / exam preparation: pdf
  7. resources related to this lecture
  8. extra reading related to this lecture optional
    • Ligand Site Preference in Iron Tetracarbonyl Complexes Fe(CO)4L (L=CO, CS, N2, NO+,CN-, NC-,C2H4, C2H2, CCH2, CH2, CF2, NH3, NF3, PH3, PF3, H2) by Y. Chen, M. Hartmann and G. Frenking, Zeitschrift für anorganische und allgemeine Chemie, 2001, 627(5), p985-998. The DOI link is broken for this paper: journal website

Tutorial 2

(updated for 2019)
  1. tutorial questions and model answers as supplied to your tutors: pdf

Problems Class 2

(updated for 2019)
  1. the energy level diagram for a square planar complex ML4: model answers pdf
  2. run a calcualtion to visualise the MOs of ML4 yourself!
  3. view the MOs of [Pd(NH3)4]2+ yourself, pop_pdnh34_opt_freq.fchk. or [PdCl4]2- yourself, pop_pdnh34_opt_freq.fchk. Your browser may try to treat this as a text file, remove the .txt extension and open in gaussview or Avagadro
  4. some recent articles related to [Pd(NH3)4]2+
    • "Palladium(II) and platinum(II) oxamate complexes as potential anticancer agents: Structural characterization and cytotoxic activity", Willian Oliveira, Marinez da Costa, Ana Fontes, et al., Polyhedron, Vol 76, (2014), p16–21, doi:10.1016/j.poly.2014.03.049
    • "Selective hydrogenation of acetylene over Pd/Fiberglass catalysts: Kinetic and isotopic studies", Yuliya Gulyaeva, Vasily Kaichev, Vladimir Zaikovskii, et al. Applied Catalysis A-General, Vol 506 (2015), p197-205, doi:10.1016/j.apcata.2015.09.016
    • "Tetra−ammineplatinum(II) dichloride ammonia tetra−solvate", T. Grassl and N. Korber, Acta Cryst. (2014) E70, i32, doi:10.1107/S1600536814012343. [Pt(NH3)4]Cl2∙4NH3, was crystallized in liquid ammonia from the salt PtCl2.

use the sidebar to access lectures 1-4 and the workshop

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