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Cover Feature: Understanding the Uniqueness of 2p Elements in Periodic Tables (Chem. Eur. J. 67/2020)
Author(s) -
Wang ZhenLing,
Hu HanShi,
Szentpály László,
Stoll Hermann,
Fritzsche Stephan,
Pyykkö Pekka,
Schwarz W. H. Eugen,
Li Jun
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.202004775
Subject(s) - atomic orbital , kinetic energy , molecular orbital , atomic physics , cover (algebra) , physics , chemistry , computational chemistry , quantum mechanics , molecule , electron , engineering , mechanical engineering
The 2p elements exhibit chemistries qualitatively different from their heavier congeners. The physical origin is the quantitative interplay of electronic, kinetic, and potential energies: The 2p orbital has no radial node and therefore little radial kinetic energy, thus 2p is radially rather contracted. All n s orbitals are weakly shielded from nuclear attraction in many‐electronic atoms, thus all n s‐orbitals are radially contracted. Therefore r 2s /r 2p ≈1 for n =2 supporting sp‐hybridization, but r n s /r n p <1 for n >2. More information can be found in the Full Paper by P. Pyykkö, W. H. E. Schwarz, J. Li, et al. on page 15558.