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What is the electronic ground state configuration of the molecule carbon monoxide (CO), and how does this configuration relate to the bonding and physical properties of the molecule? Use quantum chemical calculations to support your answer.

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The electronic ground state configuration of carbon monoxide  CO  can be determined by considering the atomic orbitals of carbon  C  and oxygen  O  and how they combine to form molecular orbitals in the CO molecule.Carbon has an electronic configuration of [He] 2s 2p, while oxygen has an electronic configuration of [He] 2s 2p. When these two atoms form a CO molecule, their atomic orbitals overlap and create molecular orbitals. The molecular orbitals can be classified as sigma    and pi    orbitals, which are formed from the overlap of s and p orbitals, respectively.The molecular orbitals of CO can be represented as follows:1.  2sC - 2sO 2. * 2sC - 2sO 3.  2pC - 2pO 4.  2pC - 2pO  and  2pC - 2pO 5. * 2pC - 2pO  and * 2pC - 2pO 6. * 2pC - 2pO The ground state electronic configuration of CO can be represented as: 2sC - 2sO  * 2sC - 2sO   2pC - 2pO   2pC - 2pO This configuration shows that CO has a triple bond, consisting of one sigma bond and two pi bonds. The triple bond results in a strong bond between the carbon and oxygen atoms, making CO a stable molecule with a bond dissociation energy of approximately 1072 kJ/mol.The strong triple bond also contributes to the physical properties of CO, such as its linear geometry and relatively small bond length  approximately 1.128  . Additionally, the presence of unpaired electrons in the * orbitals makes CO a paramagnetic molecule.Quantum chemical calculations, such as those performed using density functional theory  DFT  or ab initio methods, can be used to support these conclusions by providing accurate predictions of the molecular orbitals, bond lengths, bond angles, and other properties of CO. These calculations can also help to further understand the relationship between the electronic configuration and the bonding and physical properties of the molecule.
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