The Lennard-Jones paper of 1929 and the foundations of Molecular Orbital Theory
Abstract
The 1929 paper by Lennard-Jones is the first one to treat Molecular Orbital theory in a quantitative way. It introduced the Linear Combination of Atomic Orbitals approximation for the molecular orbitals. Its derivation of the electronic structure of the oxygen molecule from quantum principles convinced many chemists that quantum mechanics could contribute something new to their subject. The rigour and computational sucess of the theory today owe much to this paper and his subsequent developments of it.
- Publication:
-
Advances in Quantum Chemistry
- Pub Date:
- 1991
- DOI:
- 10.1016/S0065-3276(08)60361-5
- Bibcode:
- 1991AdQC...22....1H