University Chemistry ›› 2022, Vol. 37 ›› Issue (11): 2112073.doi: 10.3866/PKU.DXHX202112073

Special Issue:

• Study and Reform of Chemical Education • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Study of Multi-Level Teaching on the Principle of Symmetry-Adapted Atomic Orbitals

Guanghui Chen1, Xinming Du1, Wangqiang Lin1, Li Ma2,*(), Kun Jiang3   

  1. 1 Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, Guangdong Province, China
    2 School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
    3 Department of Natural Science, Shantou Polytechnic, Shantou 515041, Guangdong Province, China
  • Received:2021-12-27 Accepted:2022-06-10 Published:2022-08-26
  • Contact: Li Ma E-mail:mali@sjtu.edu.cn

Abstract:

In the teaching of general chemistry, structural chemistry for undergraduates majored in chemistry and quantum chemistry for postgraduates, molecular orbital theory is involved to some extent. Among them, the symmetry of atomic orbitals involved in the combination of molecular orbitals is important, but many students cannot clearly understand it. To solve this problem, we adopt the method of progressive teaching of the molecular orbital theory in different basic courses: during the teaching of general chemistry, it is explained based on the symmetrical elements of atomic orbitals; in the course of structural chemistry, it is interpreted from the perspective of group representation theory; in the quantum chemistry course for graduate students, the molecular orbital coefficients are solved by Roothaan equation for verification by taking H2S as the example. Thus, students are guided step-by-step to understand the principle of atomic orbital symmetry matching in the combination of molecular orbitals.

Key words: Symmetry matching of atomic orbital, Molecular orbital theory, Multi-level teaching