Department of Chemistry - Teaching

Formation of bonding and antibonding MOs

This applet shows the MO diagram and form of the MOs which arise from the overlap of two AOs (with the same energy) as a function of the distance between the two AOs i.e. as the bond is formed. On the right are density plots showing the form of the MOs, and plots of the MO wavefunctions along the internuclear axis. On the left are the energy curves showing how the energy of the bonding and antibonding MOs vary with distance: the dot shows the current internuclear distance.

  • Move the slider on the left up and down to alter the distance between the AOs
  • You can display the wavefunction, the square of the wavefunction, or the difference density by clicking on the buttons
  • White indicates a positive value, yellow a negative value


The difference density is the difference in electron density between the MO and two non-interacting AOs at the positions of the atoms. White shading indicates an accumulation of density, yellow shading indicates a reduction in the electron density

This webpage, and the applet it contains, was developed by Stephen Elliott as part of the web-based resources for the forthcoming First-Year Chemistry, by James Keeler and Peter Wothers, OUP (2008)