molecular orbital theory

Question

According to molecular orbital theory, which of the following species is paramagnetic?

RankGuru · Accepted Answer

A species is **paramagnetic** if it contains one or more unpaired electrons.
According to **MOT**, the configuration of $O_2$ (16 electrons) is:
$\sigma 1s^2 \sigma^* 1s^2 \sigma 2s^2 \sigma^* 2s^2 \sigma 2p_z^2 (\pi 2p_x^2 = \pi 2p_y^2) (\pi^* 2p_x^1 = \pi^* 2p_y^1)$
- There are two unpaired electrons in the subshell $\pi^* 2p$.
- In contrast, $N_2, F_2$, and $C_2$ (at least in their ground state configurations) have all electrons paired, making them diamagnetic.

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molecular orbital theory

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