A relationship between the sizes and energies of localized molecular orbitals. I. A study of selected first-row hydrides

Ab initio calculations have been performed on selected first-row hydrides with a large Gaussian basis set. Energy localized molecular orbitals (LMO 'S ) were computed and analysed in terms of their sizes and shapes. The total molecular electronic energy was partitioned into components which may be associated with an MO , and the relationship between the sizes and energies of such orbitals was examined. It was found that a simple energy–size relationship exists for core LMO 'S but only approximately holds for bond LMO 'S .