Dependence of MO shapes on a continuous measure of delocalization

Whereas localization of orbitals has long been a tool for a semiclassical interpretation of chemical properties, it is in fact electron delocalization that is a fundamental property of quantum mechanical molecules. A mathematically well-defined measure is suggested for the degree of delocalization of molecular orbitals. It is shown that an orbital set of maximum delocalization exists for which the degree of delocalization depends on the charge distribution of the molecule. Hartree-Fock canonical orbitals are definitely more localized than the most uniformaly distributed MO's giving an equivalent description of the molecule. The changes in the geometrical shape of molecular orbitals are studied passing (quasi-) continuously from the strongly localized description towards the most delocalized picture. In the case of charge-inhomogeneities even the most delocalized orbitals remain rather compact. The degree of maximum delocalization may be correlated with chemical properties such as reactivity. The shape distortion of MO's under the perturbing effect of other ions and small molecules is investigated in several examples.