The carbon monoxide molecule (CO) has a distinct electron configuration and bond characteristics. Let’s explore this step by step.
Orbital Diagram
The molecular orbital (MO) theory helps us understand the arrangement of electrons in CO. The atomic orbitals of carbon and oxygen combine to form molecular orbitals.
The electron configuration for CO can be represented as:
- σ(1s)²
- σ*(1s)²
- σ(2s)²
- σ*(2s)²
- σ(2p)²
- π(2p)²
- π*(2p)²
- σ*(2p)⁰
The total number of electrons in CO is 14, and the filling of these orbitals is shown in the orbital diagram.
Electron Configuration
The complete electron configuration of CO can be summarized as:
1s² 2s² 2p² 1s² 2s² 2p⁴
Bond Order
Bond order can be calculated using the formula:
Bond Order = (Number of bonding electrons – Number of antibonding electrons) / 2
In CO, we have:
- Bonding electrons: 10
- Antibonding electrons: 4
Thus, the bond order is:
(10 – 4) / 2 = 3
Diamagnetic or Paramagnetic?
A molecule is considered paramagnetic if it has unpaired electrons and diamagnetic if all electrons are paired. In the case of CO, all its electrons are paired in the molecular orbitals, indicating that CO is diamagnetic.
In summary, CO has an orbital configuration resulting in a bond order of 3 and is diamagnetic due to the absence of unpaired electrons.