CARBON HYBRIDIZATION sp3

To talk about hybridization in Carbon we need to remember that this element Atomic Number is 6, then its electron configuration is

   

Which we can represent also using the spin sign of the electrons

   

The Electrons who participate in Hybridization are those in level 2

2 electrons in sub level ‘s’ , 2 electrons in sub level ‘p’. Since ‘p’ has 3 orientations, ‘px’, ‘py’ and ‘pz’, and we have just 2 electrons, ‘pz’ will remain empty at this moment

   

Carbon solves this situation sending 1 electron from orbital ‘s’ to orbital ‘pz’, and when that happens, the orbitals take a new Name, and a new Form, they become Orbitals ‘sp’

   

Hybridization is mixing atomic orbitals into new Hybrid Orbitals

We get 4 new Hybrid Orbitals, and they are called more specifically ‘sp3’, because they were created mixing 1 ‘s’ orbital with 3 ‘p’ orbitals.

The angle among these new orbitals is 109.5 degrees.

Carbon use this orbitals when creates single bonding molecules, for example with Hydrogen, which has 1 electron, they will complete one orbital ‘sp’ with 2 electrons.

If one Carbon is combined with 4 Hydrogens, will build a molecule of Methane,

   

in that case the final electronic distribution for level 2 will be

   

and Carbon reaches stability because now has 8 electrons in its valence shell.