Symmetric VSEPR Geometries from Energy Minimization on a Sphere
Abstract
The basic VSEPR molecular geometries are derived by treating electron domains as identical repelling charges constrained to a sphere. In order to minimize the total Coulombic repulsion under the constraint, Lagrange multipliers and the Gram matrix are used show to that the minimum-energy configurations for 𝑁 = 2, 3, 4 are linear, trigonal planar, and tetrahedral.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Advanced Physical and Chemical Molecular Interactions
Advanced Chemical Physics Studies
Various Chemistry Research Topics
Publication details
- Journal / source
- ChemRxiv
- Publication date
- 16 February 2026
- Language
- EN
- Document type
- Preprint