In chemistry, a delta bond (δ bond) is a covalentchemical bond, in which four lobes of an atomic orbital on one atom overlap four lobes of an atomic orbital on another atom. This overlap leads to the formation of a bonding molecular orbital with two nodal planes which contain the internuclear axis and go through both atoms.[1][2][3][4]
The Greek letter δ in their name refers to d orbitals, since the orbital symmetry of the δ bond is the same as that of the usual (4-lobed) type of d orbital when seen down the bond axis. This type of bonding is observed in atoms that have occupied d orbitals with low enough energy to participate in covalent bonding, for example, in organometallic species of transition metals. Some rhenium, molybdenum, technetium, and chromium compounds contain a quadruple bond, consisting of one σ bond, two π bonds and one δ bond.
The orbital symmetry of the δ bonding orbital is different from that of a πantibonding orbital, which has one nodal plane containing the internuclear axis and a second nodal plane perpendicular to this axis between the atoms.