Chemistry - CHEMICAL BONDING Question with Solution | TestHub

A $\pi$-antibonding molecular orbital (${\pi }^{\ast }$) is formed by the destructive (out-of-phase) sideways overlap of atomic orbitals, creating a nodal plane between them. In Figure 3, a vertical $p$-orbital undergoes sideways overlap with a $d$-orbital. The shaded top lobe of the $p$-orbital meets the unshaded (opposite phase) top-left lobe of the $d$-orbital. Similarly, the unshaded bottom lobe of the $p$-orbital meets the shaded bottom-left lobe of the $d$-orbital. This complete out-of-phase alignment confirms a valid $\pi$-antibonding configuration, making (C) 3 only the correct choice.