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A look at bonds and bonding

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Abstract

Even after roughly a century of quantum theory, there is still debate, sometimes rather contentious, as to the nature of the chemical bond—or is it bonds, or is it bonding? In this brief overview, we summarize some of the prominent approaches to this and related issues. A key focus in any interpretation must be satisfying the two requirements that the energy of a stable molecule or complex be a minimum and that the resultant Coulombic force upon each nucleus be zero. The overall kinetic energy change in molecule formation is positive.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, 70148, USA

    Peter Politzer & Jane S. Murray

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  1. Peter Politzer
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  2. Jane S. Murray
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Correspondence to Peter Politzer.

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Politzer, P., Murray, J.S. A look at bonds and bonding. Struct Chem 30, 1153–1157 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11224-019-01364-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11224-019-01364-3

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