Lecture 6 - Seeing Bonds by Electron Difference Density

Professor McBride uses a hexagonal "benzene" pattern and Franklin's X-ray pattern of DNA, to continue his discussion of X-ray crystallography by explaining how a diffraction pattern in "reciprocal space" relates to the distribution of electrons in molecules and to the repetition of molecules in a crystal lattice. He then uses electron difference density mapping to reveal bonds, and unshared electron pairs, and their shape, and to show that they are only one-twentieth as dense as would be expected for Lewis shared pairs. Anomalous difference density in the carbon-fluorine bond raises the course's second great question, "Compared to what?" Problem sets/Reading assignment: Reading assignments, problem sets, PowerPoint presentations, and other resources for this lecture can be accessed from Professor McBride's on-campus course website, which was developed for his Fall 2008 students. Please see Resources section below. Resources: [[http://webspace.yale.edu/chem125_oyc/#L06|Professor McBride's web resources for CHEM 125 (Fall 2008)]]