Linnett is Back: Chemical Bonding through the Lens of Born Maxima.

Abstract

The classical Lewis-Langmuir electron pair model remains central to chemical bonding theories despite its inherent contradictions with quantum mechanical principles such as antisymmetry. This paper revisits the long-forgotten Linnett's double quartet (LDQ) model, which integrates spin considerations into chemical bonding. We demonstrate that the distribution of electrons at the maxima of the square of the wave function (Born maxima) highlights the rigidity of the same-spin electron blocks and validates the LDQ framework in atoms and molecules. A generalized LDQ model accounts for all bond types, including covalent, polar covalent, ionic, dative, and electron-deficient, and directly incorporates electron correlation effects, providing a rigorous yet intuitive approach to bonding. This perspective also reveals fundamental flaws in conventional mean-field descriptions that ignore the correlated motion of electrons. By bridging traditional and quantum paradigms, the generalized LDQ model offers a robust tool for understanding chemical bonding, with implications for education, experimental design, and theoretical advancements.