Chemistry - CHEMICAL BONDING Question with Solution | TestHub

A $p\pi -d\pi$ antibonding molecular orbital (${\pi }^{\ast }$) is formed by the sideways (lateral) overlap of a $p$-orbital and a $d$-orbital.

For an antibonding interaction, lobes of opposite phases (represented by different shading/patterns) must face each other to cause destructive interference.

In Figure 3, the overlapping lobes of the $p$-orbital and $d$-orbital have opposite signs/shading, which represents a clear out-of-phase, antibonding combination.

Figures 1 and 2 represent bonding configurations or invalid overlaps due to incorrect phase alignments for a ${\pi }^{\ast }$ orbital.