Kevin, the High School Whiz Kid, Is Trying to Make

Short Answer

Kevin, the high school whiz kid, is trying to make a compound which contains neon as one of its elements. He figured that the difference in electron affinity between oxygen and neon is too small for them to form an ionic bond, so he is considering a feasibility study on the NeO molecule. He tried the same molecular orbital energy level scheme for the valence orbitals in the proposed NeO system as was used for diatomic species like O₂.
σ_2s < σ*_2s < σ_2p(z)< π_2p(y), π_2p(x) < π*_2p(y), π*_2p(x)< σ*_2p(z)
Based on his proposal, a)what would be the bond order of this molecule, and b)how many unpaired electrons would there be in the antibonding orbitals of the system?
a)________, b)________