Orbitals

[Nikita Patra 3J]

What's happening with the orbitals when electrons are delocalized?

[Jarrett Peyrefitte 2K]

A delocalized electron is an electron in an atom, ion or molecule not associated with any single atom or a single covalent bond.

[Jessica Chen 2C]

Orbitals aren't actual physical "places" for electrons to stay in, they just describe the probability of finding an electron in a specific region. So if an electron isn't "in" an orbital, that orbital doesn't exist, because the probability of finding an electron there is zero.

[VPatankar_2L]

In terms of resonance Lewis Structure, electrons can be delocalized if they are free to move throughout the plane. This means that a double bond between Oxygen and Nitrogen, for example in the structure NO3, can be moved between any of the Oxygens while the remaining two form a single bond with Nitrogen.

[sbottomley3a]

In the terms of this class, it's an electron that isn't associated with a bond or single atom, so it's free to move about in the atom's space. It isn't "localized" or held to a specific region, like it would most likely be if it were in a bond.