ChemDraw User's Manual - CambridgeSoft

AdministratorThe Orbital ToolsPaletteUse the Orbital tools to add orbitals to yourchemical structures.To draw an s-orbital:1. Hold down the mouse button over the Orbitaltool and drag to select the s-orbital toolfrom the palette.2. Point to an atom where the orbital will becentered.3. Drag outward.You draw orbitals so that the node appears first.Depending on the orbital type, available fill patternsare:• Background color• Shaded• Solid colorYou can modify the fill colors with the Color menu.Display the Info window to view the orbital’s lengthand angle relative to the X-axis while you draw it.You can constrain the length and angle of an orbitalby selecting Fixed Lengths and Fixed Angles on theObject menu.NOTE: Orbitals are not normally part of the structure theyare drawn near and are not selected when you double-click abond, atom, or atom label with a selection tool. To group theorbitals with the structure, use the Group command from theObject menu. For more information, see “Grouping Objects”on page 118.s-orbitalsThe s-orbital tools are shown below:Sigma OrbitalsThe σ-orbital tools are shown below:To draw a σ-orbital:1. Hold down the mouse button over the Orbitaltool and drag to select the σ-orbital toolfrom the palette.2. Point where the orbital will be centered.3. Drag outward along the long axis of the orbital.Single Lobe OrbitalsSingle lobe orbitals are commonly used forindicating a lone pair. The single lobe orbital toolsare shown below:94•Drawing Orbitals, Symbols, Arrows, Arcs, and Other ShapesCambridgeSoftThe Orbital Tools Palette