Hund's Rule of Maximum Multiplicity is an observational rule which states that a greater total spin state usually makes the resulting atom more stable. Accordingly, it can be taken that if two or more orbitals of equal energy are available, electrons will occupy them singly before filling them in pairs. The rule, discovered by Friedrich Hund in 1925, is of important use in atomic chemistry, spectroscopy, and quantum chemistry. As a result this rule is often abbreviated to Hund's Rule, ignoring Hund's other two rules.[1]
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The increased stability of the atom, most commonly manifested in a lower energy state, arises because the high-spin state forces the unpaired electrons to reside in different spatial orbitals. A false, but commonly given, reason for the increased stability of high multiplicity states is that the different occupied spatial orbitals create a larger average distance between electrons, reducing electron-electron repulsion energy. In reality, it has been shown that the actual reason behind the increased stability is a decrease in the screening of electron-nuclear attractions.[2] Total spin state is calculated as the total number of unpaired electrons + 1, or twice the total spin + 1 written as 2S+1.
As a result of Hund's rule, constraints are placed on the way atomic orbitals are filled using the Aufbau principle. Before any two electrons occupy an orbital in a subshell, other orbitals in the same subshell must first each contain one electron. Also, the electrons filling a subshell will have parallel spin before the shell starts filling up with the opposite spin electrons (after the first orbital gains a second electron). As a result, when filling up atomic orbitals, the maximum number of unpaired electrons (and hence maximum total spin state) is assured.
For example a p4 subshell arranges its electrons as [↑↓][↑][↑] rather than [↑↓][↑][↓] or [↑↓][↑↓][ ].
In 2004, researchers reported the synthesis of 5-dehydro-m-xylylene (DMX), the first organic molecule known to violate Hund's rule.[3]