SCCJ Cafe – Season 3 –Theoretical Chemistry in Nordic (4) "A Paramagnetic Bonding"

Abstract

In 2012 Lange et al. suggested a distinct bonding mechanism: perpendicular paramagnetic bonding, generated by the stabilization of antibonding orbitals in their perpendicular orientation relative to an external magnetic field. The perpendicular paramagnetic bonding explains the bonding of H₂ in the ³Σ_u⁺(1σ_g1σ_u*) triplet state and of He₂ in the ¹Σg⁺(1σ_g²1σ_u^*2) singlet state, as well as their preferred perpendicular orientation in the external field. In this paper, the culture of quantum chemistry and life in Norway are also briefly touched upon.