In: Chemistry
What is the role of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation in molecular orbital Theory?
Born-oppenheimer approximation makes the assumption that the motion of nuclei and the motion of electrons can be separated. According to this approximation the motion of nucleus is zero compared to the motion of electrons. Thus they can be separated. The motion of nucleus is said to be zero or a nucleus doesn't have any motion because the mass of nucleus is 100times more than that of electron. So it moves very slowly compared to the motion of electrons.
As a result of this approximation the molecular wavefunction can be written as:
(Psi)ne(r,R)=Xne(R)(psi)e(r,R)
Thus using this equation the molecular wavefunction of a molecule ( especially large molecules) can be determined easily.