For which of the following diatomic molecules would the bond order become greater if an electron were removed, that is, if the molecule were converted to the positive ion in its ground state? A) F₂ B) Na₂ C) P₂ D) B₂ E) C₂

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The bond order is defined as (number of bonding electrons - number of antibonding electrons) / 2. In this case, all the given molecules have bond orders of 1 because they are diatomic molecules with one bond between the two atoms.

If an electron is removed from the molecule to form a positive ion, the bond order will increase if the removal of the electron comes from an antibonding orbital. This is because antibonding orbitals are detrimental to the stability of the molecule and removing an electron from such an orbital will increase the stability, hence increasing the bond order.

Out of the given options, molecule A (FS) has an antibonding orbital (pi*) that is occupied by a single electron. Therefore, the removal of this electron will increase the bond order from 1 to 1.5. The other options do not have any antibonding electrons, hence the removal of an electron will not increase the bond order.

For Which of the Following Diatomic Molecules Would the Bond