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Orbital Diagram:Excited States definitions

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  • Conjugated Molecule
    A structure with alternating single and double bonds, allowing delocalization of pi electrons across multiple atoms.
  • Photon
    A quantum of light energy capable of exciting electrons to higher energy orbitals in molecules.
  • Electron Excitation
    The process where an electron absorbs energy and moves from a lower to a higher energy molecular orbital.
  • Ground State
    The lowest energy configuration of electrons in a molecule, with all electrons in the lowest available orbitals.
  • Excited State
    A higher energy configuration where one or more electrons occupy orbitals above their ground state positions.
  • HOMO
    The molecular orbital containing the highest energy electrons that are still occupied in a given state.
  • LUMO
    The lowest energy molecular orbital that does not contain electrons but can accept them upon excitation.
  • Pi Electron
    An electron found in a molecular orbital formed by the sideways overlap of adjacent p orbitals in conjugated systems.
  • Molecular Orbital
    A region in a molecule where electrons are likely to be found, formed by the combination of atomic orbitals.
  • Aufbau Principle
    A rule stating that electrons fill molecular orbitals starting from the lowest energy level upwards.
  • Psi 2
    The second molecular orbital in energy order, often serving as the HOMO in the ground state of 1,3-butadiene.
  • Psi 3
    The third molecular orbital in energy order, which can become the HOMO after electron excitation in 1,3-butadiene.
  • Psi 4
    The fourth molecular orbital in energy order, which becomes the LUMO after electron excitation in 1,3-butadiene.
  • Reactivity
    The tendency of a molecule to undergo chemical change, influenced by the arrangement of electrons in orbitals.