Molecular Orbital Theory

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

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N₂

O₂

F₂

C₂

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Subject: chemistry
Chapter: chemical bonding and molecular structure
Topic: molecular orbital theory
Difficulty: Medium
Year: 2025

Solution

Correct Answer:

O₂

A species is paramagnetic if it contains one or more unpaired electrons. According to MOT, the configuration of $O_{2}$ (16 electrons) is: $σ 1 s^{2} σ^{*} 1 s^{2} σ 2 s^{2} σ^{*} 2 s^{2} σ 2 p_{z}^{2} (π 2 p_{x}^{2} = π 2 p_{y}^{2}) (π^{*} 2 p_{x}^{1} = π^{*} 2 p_{y}^{1})$

There are two unpaired electrons in the subshell $π^{*} 2 p$ .
In contrast, $N_{2}, F_{2}$ , and $C_{2}$ (at least in their ground state configurations) have all electrons paired, making them diamagnetic.

This medium difficulty chemistry question is from the chapter chemical bonding and molecular structure, covering the topic of molecular orbital theory. It appeared in the 2025 exam.

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Molecular Orbital Theory

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