Back Bonding Frequently Asked Questions

What is Meant by Back Bonding?

Back bonding refers to the sharing of electron pairs from a filled orbital of one atom to an empty orbital on another. It often involves a metal donating electrons back to a pi-acceptor ligand.

What is Difference between Pi Bonding and Back Bonding?

Pi Bonding is formed by overlapping of atomic orbitals while Back Bonding is formed by donation of elec tron from filled orbital to partial or empty anti-bonding orbital

Which Elements show Back bonding?

Elements with available d orbitals, commonly transition metals, are more likely to exhibit back bonding. For example, metals like iron, platinum, and palladium.

Does Back Bonding increase Stability?

Yes, back bonding can increase the stability of a complex by forming stronger bonds and reducing electron repulsion between adjacent electron-rich regions.

What does Back Bonding depend on?

Back bonding depends on the availability of filled orbitals on the metal and empty orbitals on the ligand. It is influenced by the nature of the ligands and the metal’s electronic structure.

Does Back Bonding affect Bond Length?

Yes, back bonding can affect bond lengths. Due to the shared electron density, it often leads to a shorter bond between the metal and the ligand involved in back bonding.

Is Anti-Bonding and Back Bonding Same?

No Anti-Bonding and Back Bonding are not same.



Back Bonding

Back Bonding occurs between atoms where electrons jump from the atomic orbital to the anti-bonding orbital of the acceptor ligand. Back Bonding is also known as π-Back Bonding or Back Donation. It is a type of covalent bonding where electrons from a filled atomic orbital jump to an empty or partially filled atomic orbital.

In this article, we will learn what back Bonding is, its definition, characteristics, and Back Bonding in BF3 and Metal Carbonyls.

Table of Content

  • What is Back Bonding?
  • Characteristics of Back bonding
  • Pi Back bonding
  • Back Bonding in BF3
  • Back Bonding in Metal Carbonyls
  • Back Bonding vs Coordinate Bonding

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What is Back Bonding?

Back Bonding is a concept in chemistry where electrons move from an atomic orbital on one atom to an appropriate symmetry anti-bonding orbital on a π-acceptor ligand. It is also called π backdonation. This electron transfer strengthens the metal-ligand bond and weakens the ligand-ligand bond. It is especially common in the organometallic chemistry of transition metals....

Characteristics of Back bonding

The characteristics of Back bonding are:...

Pi Back bonding

Pi Back Bonding, or pi back donation, is a chemical phenomenon in which electrons move from an atomic orbital on one atom to an appropriate symmetry anti-bonding orbital on another atom or ligand....

Back Bonding in BF3

In BF3, boron has an empty p-orbital, while each of the three fluorine atoms possesses a lone pair of electrons in its p-orbital. Consequently, boron acts as a Lewis acid, while fluorine serves as a Lewis base. The p-electron from fluorine drifts into the empty p-orbital of boron, resulting in a pi-bonding interaction known as back bonding....

Back Bonding in Metal Carbonyls

Back Bonding in metal carbonyls is a type of bonding that occurs between a metal center and a carbonyl ligand. In this type of bonding, electrons are partially transferred from a d-orbital of the metal to anti-bonding molecular orbitals of the carbonyl ligand. This interaction strengthens the metal-carbonyl bond and weakens the C-O bond....

Back Bonding vs Coordinate Bonding

The difference between Back bonding and Coordinate bonding is as follows:...

Back Bonding JEE Questions

Q1: The bond dissociation energy of B–F in BF3 is 646 kJ mol-1, whereas that of C–F in CF4 is 515 kJ mol–1. The correct reason for higher B–F bond dissociation energy as compared to that of C–F is...

Back Bonding Frequently Asked Questions

What is Meant by Back Bonding?...