[DarkLightA]

Okay, so I've learnt about the theory of hybridization. Is this still used now?

As far as I know, in the bonding of H₂O, this happens:

Energy levels,

H: 1s¹
O: 1s², 2s², 2p⁴ Where one of the pairs of 2p is connected.

So, an Oxygen 2s electron is excited to a 2p electron, leaving us with:

O: 1s², 2s¹, 2p⁵ Where two of the pairs of 2p are connected.

This hybridizes to:
O: 1s² and an sp³ with 6 electrons, where 2 pairs are connected, and there are 2 single ones.

..and then there are two lone electrons for Hydrogen to bond with.

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Can someone explain:

What exactly happens during hybridization? As far as I see the electrons just seem to be "jumping" up.
Why is it sp³? How to you know what power sp is to?
Why can s electrons bond with sp? Can p electrons bond with sp as well?

[cliverlong]

<< snip >>
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Can someone explain:

What exactly happens during hybridization? As far as I see the electrons just seem to be "jumping" up.
Why is it sp³? How to you know what power sp is to?
Why can s electrons bond with sp? Can p electrons bond with sp as well?

I think the answer to your questions is:

Molecular orbital theory


As I understand it (I may be wrong)...

You take the atomic orbitals from the individual atoms
You "blend" orbitals within an atom to form hybrid  atomic orbitals
Only pairs of electrons with opposite spin can occupy a single atomic orbital (Pauli exclusion principle)
You "blend" orbitals  of "similar" energy(?) between atoms to form molecular orbitals
Only pairs of electrons with opposite spin can occupy a single molecular orbital  (Pauli exclusion principle)
A molecule may have several molecular orbitals at same energy so they are equivalent.
The higher energy orbitals in a molecule correspond to the bonding or valence levels
As long as more electrons occupy bonding rather than anti-bonding orbitals the bond between the atoms is stable
Molecular orbitals can span whole molecules so it becomes difficult to retain the Lewis bonding idea of covalent bonds being formed by a pair of electrons shared between between a pair of atoms in a molecule.

The example of water and its molecular orbitals is given in:

http://www.ch.ic.ac.uk/vchemlib/course/mo_theory/main.html

Start with the "easy" molecules such as H2 then work your way down the page through more complex molecules


Typing the string "water molecular orbital" into Google yields the following three sites top of the list that may deliver further information

http://chemistry.boisestate.edu/people/richardbanks/inorganic/bonding%20and%20hybridization/bonding_hybridization.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_hybridisation
http://www.ch.ic.ac.uk/vchemlib/course/mo_theory/main.html

Clive

[DarkLightA]

Thanks Clive, but I'm not that, well, educated within Chemistry. Could someone answer my questions in a more straight-forward way?

Sorry, Clive, I realize that you've put effort into that answer.

[vhpk]

1/ What is the definition of hybridization? It's the mixing procedure of the orbitals to give new degenerate orbitals.
2/ Which hybridization is the atom? I'd rather you write the structural formula of the compound first, then determine how many electron regions around the central atom, then you can determine the appropriate hybridization.
Ex: H2O has 4 electron regions so O should be sp3 hybridized.
3/ sp hybrid orbital is formed from an s and p orbital if and only if two lobes with the same sign overlap. An new orbital is formed with a (+) and (-) lobe, so it can overlap with s, p,d,f,... if the other orbitals use the same sign lobe to overlap with them.
Hope it helps.