Valence Bond Theory (VBT) and Molecular Orbital Theory (MOT)

Bond order, bonding and antibonding molecular orbitals

Valence Bond Theory (VBT)

  1. Valence Bond Theory (VBT) explains the formation of chemical bonds through the overlap of atomic orbitals.
  2. In VBT, atoms combine by overlapping their valence orbitals to form bonds.
  3. The overlapping orbitals contain unpaired electrons, which pair up to form a covalent bond.
  4. Bond strength depends on the extent of overlap; greater overlap results in stronger bonds.
  5. VBT distinguishes between sigma (σ) and pi (π) bonds based
Valence Bond Theory (VBT) and Molecular Orbital Theory (MOT)