Hybridization of Orbitals
Hybrid orbital was developed by Linus Pauling. Hybrid orbital can be simply defined as the combination of the two native orbital into a new orbitals.
But to understand this topic clearly, let’s go back to the basics.
First, recall that the electron, being a quantum particle, cannot have a distinct location; the most we can do is define the region of space around the nucleus in which the probability of finding the electron exceeds some random value, such as 90% or 99%. This region of space is called orbital. These orbitals are denoted by s,p,d,f. Wherein the valence electron is found on the outer orbital.
Hybridization is not a physical phenomenon. It is merely a mathematical operation that combines the atomic orbitals within such a way that the hybrid orbitals possess the geometric and other properties that are reasonably consistent with what we observe in a wide range molecule.
- Christalyn De Guzman