The carbon–carbon bond in ethane is formed by a head-on sigma overlap between one sp three hybrid orbital on each carbon atom.
Think of each carbon as having four balloons arranged in a roughly tetrahedral shape, and each balloon is an sp three hybrid orbital that can share electrons; when one balloon from the left carbon points directly at one balloon from the right carbon, they overlap end to end and create a strong shared region of electrons between the two nuclei called a sigma bond; this head-on overlap is what holds the two carbons together in ethane and is different from sideways overlaps that form pi bonds; because the sp three hybrids are a mix of one s orbital and three p orbitals they are directional and have the right shape to overlap directly along the axis connecting the two carbons, producing the single carbon–carbon bond in ethane.
Many students think the bond comes from pure p orbitals, but in ethane the carbons use sp three hybrids, so remembering the hybridization is important; another common mistake is imagining the overlap as a vague cloud rather than a directional end-to-end overlap, so picture the two balloons meeting tip to tip to correct that; some people assume the bond has sideways character like a pi bond, but the sigma bond here allows free rotation around the carbon–carbon axis, so do not confuse sigma with pi bonding.
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Ethane C–C Bond: sp3 Sigma Overlap
- Picture each carbon as four balloons
- Each balloon is an sp3 hybrid orbital
- Balloons point tetrahedrally for overlap
- Overlap is end-to-end along axis
- sp3 equals one s plus three p
- Sigma bond holds carbons together
Common Mistakes about Ethane C–C Bond
- Thinking bond uses pure p orbitals
- Imagining overlap as vague cloud
- Confusing sigma bond with pi bond
ethane, sp3, sigmabond, carboncarbon, organicchemistry, hybridization, bonding, molecularorbital, chemistrytutorial, CClink
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