Sigma Bonds in Polyatomic Compounds
They are obtained by head-on overlapping of atomic shells. The concept of sigma bonding is extended, albeit loosely, to describe bonding interactions involving overlap of a single lobe of one orbital with a single lobe of another. For example, propane is described as consisting of ten sigma bonds, one each for the two C-C bonds and one each for the eight C-H bonds. The σ bonding in such a polyatomic molecule is highly delocalized, which conflicts with the two-orbital, one-bond concept. Despite this complication, the concept of σ bonding is extremely powerful and therefore pervasive.
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