Preferred Label : maximum hardness, principle of;
IUPAC definition : A chemical system at a given temperature will evolve to a configuration of maximum
absolute hardness, η, provided that the potential due to the nuclei, plus any external
potential and the electronic chemical potential, remain constant. In terms of molecular
orbital theory, the highest value of η reflects the highest possible energy gap between
the lowest unoccupied and highest occupied molecular orbitals; this value correlates
with the stability of a system.;
Origin ID : MT07068;
See also
A chemical system at a given temperature will evolve to a configuration of maximum
absolute hardness, η, provided that the potential due to the nuclei, plus any external
potential and the electronic chemical potential, remain constant. In terms of molecular
orbital theory, the highest value of η reflects the highest possible energy gap between
the lowest unoccupied and highest occupied molecular orbitals; this value correlates
with the stability of a system.
