What Is an Electron Configuration of a Nitrogen Molecule?

The atomic orbitals of the nitrogen atoms overlap to produce the molecular orbitals of nitrogen molecule N₂.

The new molecular orbitals are created as follows:

• A bonding σ1s and an antibonding σ*1 s MO are formed by the 1s orbitals.
• A bonding σ2s and an antibonding σ*2 s MO are formed by the 2s orbitals.
• A bonding σ2p_z and an antibonding σ*2p_z MO are formed by the 2p orbitals directed along the internuclear axis.
• Each atom’s 2p_x and 2p_y orbitals combine to create bonding π2px and π2py bonding MOs, as well as antibonding π*2p_x and π*2p_y bonding MO.

Hence, the resulting electron configuration of a nitrogen molecule is (σ1s)²(σ^*1s)²(σ2s)²(σ^*2s)²(π2p_x)²(π2p_y)²(σ2p_z)2