What is Hybridization?

Redistribution of the energy of orbitals of individual atoms to give orbitals of equivalent

energy happens when two atomic orbitals combine to form a hybrid orbital in a molecule.
This process is called hybridization.  During the process of hybridization, the atomic
orbitals of comparable energies are mixed together and mostly involves the merging of
two ‘s’ orbitals or two ‘p’ orbitals or mixing of an ‘s’ orbital with a ‘p’ orbital as well as ‘s’
orbital with a ‘d’ orbital. The new orbitals thus formed are known as hybrid orbitals. More
significantly, hybrid orbitals are quite useful in explaining atomic bonding properties and
molecular geometry.

Let us quickly look at the example of a carbon atom. This atom forms 4 single bonds
wherein the valence-shell s orbital mixes with 3 valence-shell p orbitals. This combination
leads to the formation of 4 equivalent sp3 mixtures. These will have a
tetrahedral arrangement around the carbon which is bonded to 4 different atoms.

Hybridization Video Lesson

⇒ Also Read

 Chemical Bonding
 Molecular Orbital Theory

Key Features of Hybridization

 Atomic orbitals with equal energies undergo hybridization.
 The number of hybrid orbitals formed is equal to the number of atomic orbitals
mixing.
 It is not necessary that all the half-filled orbitals must participate in hybridization.
Even completely filled orbitals with slightly different energies can also participate.
 Hybridization happens only during the bond formation and not in an isolated
gaseous atom.
 The shape of the molecule can be predicted if the hybridization of the molecule is
known.
 The bigger lobe of the hybrid orbital always has a positive sign, while the smaller
lobe on the opposite side has a negative sign.
Try This: Give the hybridization states of each of the carbon atoms in the given molecule.

 H2C = CH – CN
 HC ≡ C − C ≡ CH
 H2C = C = C = CH2

Types of Hybridization
Based on the types of orbitals involved in mixing, the hybridization can be classified as
sp3, sp2, sp, sp3d, sp3d2, sp3d3. Let us now discuss the various types of hybridization, along
with their examples.

sp Hybridization
sp hybridization is observed when one s and one p orbital in the same main shell of an
atom mix to form two new equivalent orbitals. The new orbitals formed are called sp
hybridized orbitals. It forms linear molecules with an angle of 180°

 This type of hybridization involves the mixing of one ‘s’ orbital and one ‘p’ orbital
of equal energy to give a new hybrid orbital known as an sp hybridized orbital.
 sp hybridization is also called diagonal hybridization.
 Each sp hybridized orbital has an equal amount of s and p character – 50% s
and 50% p character.

Examples of sp Hybridization:

 All compounds of beryllium like BeF2, BeH2, BeCl2

 All compounds of carbon-containing triple bond like C2H2.

sp2 Hybridization
sp2 hybridization is observed when one s and two p orbitals of the same shell of an atom
mix to form 3 equivalent orbitals. The new orbitals formed are called sp2 hybrid orbitals. 

 sp2 hybridization is also called trigonal hybridization.

 It involves mixing of one ‘s’ orbital and two ‘p’ orbital’s of equal energy to give a
new hybrid orbital known as sp2.
 A mixture of s and p orbital formed in trigonal symmetry and is maintained at
1200.
 All the three hybrid orbitals remain in one plane and make an angle of 120° with
one another. Each of the hybrid orbitals formed has a 33.33% ‘s’ character and
66.66% ‘p’ character.
 The molecules in which the central atom is linked to 3 atoms and is sp2
hybridized have a triangular planar shape.
Examples of sp2 Hybridization

 All the compounds of Boron i.e. BF3, BH3

 All the compounds of carbon-containing a carbon-carbon double bond, Ethylene
(C2H4)

sp3 Hybridization
When one ‘s’ orbital and 3 ‘p’ orbitals belonging to the same shell of an atom mix
together to form four new equivalent orbital, the type of hybridization is called
a tetrahedral hybridization or sp3. The new orbitals formed are called sp3 hybrid orbitals.

 These are directed towards the four corners of a regular tetrahedron and make an

angle of 109°28’ with one another.
  The angle between the sp3 hybrid orbitals is 109.28 0
 Each sp3 hybrid orbital has 25% s character and 75% p character.
 Example of sp3 hybridization: ethane (C2H6), methane.

sp3d Hybridization
sp3d hybridization involves the mixing of 1s orbital, 3p orbitals and 1d orbital to form 5
sp3d hybridized orbitals of equal energy. They have trigonal bipyramidal geometry.

 The mixture of s, p and d orbital forms trigonal bipyramidal symmetry.

 Three hybrid orbitals lie in the horizontal plane inclined at an angle of 120° to
each other known as the equatorial orbitals.
 The remaining two orbitals lie in the vertical plane at 90 degrees plane of the
equatorial orbitals known as axial orbitals.
 Example: Hybridization in Phosphorus pentachloride (PCl5)
sp3d2 Hybridization
 sp3d2 hybridization has 1s, 3p and 2d orbitals, that undergo intermixing to form 6
identical sp3d2 hybrid orbitals.
 These 6 orbitals are directed towards the corners of an octahedron.
 They are inclined at an angle of 90 degrees to one another.

Frequently Asked Questions on Hybridization

What are the different types of hybridization?

Based on the nature of the mixing orbitals, the hybridization can be classified as,

 sp hybridization (beryllium chloride, acetylene)

 sp2 hybridization (boron trichloride, ethylene)
 sp3 hybridization (methane, ethane)
 sp3d hybridization (phosphorus pentachloride)
 sp3d2 hybridization (sulphur hexafluoride)
 sp3d3 hybridization (iodine heptafluoride)
⇒ Know more about VSEPR theory its postulates and limitations

Among sp, sp2 and sp3, which hybrid orbital is more electronegative?

The percentage of s character in sp, sp2 and sp3 hybridized carbon is 50%, 33.33%, and
25%, respectively.

⇒ Also Read:
  Hydrogen Bonding
 Covalent Bond
Due to the spherical shape of the s orbital, it is attracted evenly by the nucleus from all
directions. Therefore, a hybrid orbital with more s-character will be closer to the nucleus
and thus more electronegative. Hence, the sp hybridized carbon is more electronegative
than sp2 and sp3.

Why is the hybrid orbital during hybridization better than their parent
atoms?
The reason why a hybrid orbital is better than their parents:

 Parent s: because it is directional unlike the s orbital.

 Parent p: because it has lower energy than p orbital.

What are hybrid orbitals?

The hybrid orbitals can be defined as the combination of standard atomic orbitals
resulting in the formation of new atomic orbitals.

⇒ Check: Fajan’s Rule and its Postulates

During hybridization, the hybrid orbitals possess different geometry of orbital

arrangement and energies than the standard atomic orbitals. Also, the orbital overlap
minimizes the energy of the molecule. The degenerate hybrid orbitals formed from the
standard atomic orbitals:

 1s and 1 p: sp orbitals
 1s and 2p: sp2 orbitals
 1s and 3p: sp3 orbitals
 1s, 3p, and 1d: sp3d orbitals
 1s, 3p, and 2d: sp3d2 orbitals

What is the difference between sp, sp2 and sp3 hybridization?

sp hybridization occurs due to the mixing of one s and one p atomic orbital,
sp2 hybridization is the mixing of one s and two p atomic orbitals and sp 3 hybridization is
the mixing of one s and three p atomic orbitals.

What is the percentage of s and p character in sp, sp 2 and sp3 hybrid

orbital?
The percentage of s and p character in sp, sp 2 and sp3 hybrid orbital is,

Sp: s characteristic 50% and p characteristic 50%,

Sp2: s characteristic 33.33% and p characteristic 66.66%,

Sp3: s characteristic 25% and p characteristic 75%.

Explain the five basic shapes of Hybridization?
The five basic shapes of hybridization are linear, trigonal planar, tetrahedral, trigonal
bipyramidal, and octahedral.

The geometry of the orbital arrangement:

 Linear: Two electron groups are involved resulting in sp hybridization, the angle
between the orbitals is 180°.
 Trigonal planar: Three electron groups are involved resulting in sp 2 hybridization,
the angle between the orbitals is 120°.
 Tetrahedral: Four electron groups involved resulting in sp 3 hybridization, the angle
between the orbitals is 109.5°.
 Trigonal bipyramidal: Five electron groups involved resulting in sp 3d hybridization,
the angle between the orbitals is 90°, 120°.
 Octahedral: Six electron groups involved resulting in sp 3d2 hybridization, the angle
between the orbitals is 90°.

Explain sp3 Hybridization in Methane?

The 2s and all the three (3p) orbitals of carbon hybridize to form four sp 3 orbitals. These
hybrid orbitals bond with four atoms of hydrogen through sp3-s orbital overlap resulting
in CH4 (methane). The geometry of orbital arrangement due to the minimum electron
repulsion is tetrahedral.

Amide molecule looks sp3 hybridized but it is sp2, why?

The general process of hybridization will change if the atom is either enclosed by two or
more p orbitals or it has a lone pair to jump into a p orbital. Therefore, in the case of an
amide molecule, the lone pair goes into a p orbital to have 3 adjacent parallel p orbitals
(conjugation).

What results in sp, sp2 and sp3 hybridization?

Sp and sp2 hybridization results in two and one unhybridized p orbitals respectively
whereas in sp3 hybridization there are no unhybridized p orbitals.

Explain the difference between molecular and hybrid orbitals.

The interactions between the atomic orbitals of two different atoms result in molecular
orbitals, whereas when the atomic orbitals of the same atom interact they form hybrid
orbitals.
How many sigma and pi bonds are in the HCCH molecule?

Answer

Verified

61.8k+ views

8.2k+ likes

Hint: The sigma bond is shown as σ−bondσ−bond and pi bond are shown

as π−bondπ−bond, if all the bonds in the compound are single then there are

only sigma bonds, and pi bonds are present in the double and the triple bonds.

HCCH molecules are known as ethyne or acetylene.

Complete answer: If the compounds are covalent, it means that there are

covalent bonds in them, and there are two types of a covalent bonds, i.e., sigma

bond shown as σ−bondσ−bond and pi bond shown as π−bondπ−bond.

By counting the number of bonds, we can calculate the number of sigma and pi

bonds. Sigma and pi bonds are based on the type of bond present in the

molecule, i.e., a single bond, double bond, and triple bond. Therefore, in single

bonds, only a sigma bond is present, in the double bond one is sigma and one is

pi, and in the triple bond one is a sigma bond and two are pi bonds.

HCCH molecule is known as ethyne or acetylene and it is the first member of the
alkyne group, and alkynes are the compounds in which there is a triple bond.

The formula of ethyne is given below:

H−C≡C−HH−C≡C−H
Since there is one triple bond in this compound, therefore, there are 2 pi bonds

present. Rest there are 3 bonds present, so there are 3 sigma bonds.

The diagram is given below

Therefore, there are 3 sigma bonds and 2 pi bonds present in HCCH.

Note: The sigma bond is a stronger bond than the pi bond because overlapping

in the sigma bond is along the internuclear axis but in the pi bond there is

sideways overlapping of orbitals