MOLECULAR SYMMETRY AND POINT GROUPS

Molecular symmetry in chemistry explains the symmetry exist in molecules and the categorization of molecules according to their symmetry. Molecular symmetry is a basic concept in chemistry, as it can predict or describe several of a molecule's chemical properties, like its dipole moment and its allowed spectroscopic transitions (that is based on selection rules like the Laporte rule). Several university level textbooks on physical chemistry, quantum chemistry, and inorganic chemistry devote a chapter to symmetry.

While several frameworks for the study of molecular symmetry present, group theory is the predominant one. This framework is also helpful in studying the symmetry of molecular orbitals with applications like the Woodward-Hoffmann rules, ligand field theory and the Hückel method. Other framework on a larger scale is the make use of crystal systems to describe crystallographic symmetry in bulk materials.

Several methods for the practical assessment of molecular symmetry [resent, including X-ray crystallography and several forms of spectroscopy, for instance infrared spectroscopy of metal carbonyls. The Spectroscopic notation is based on symmetry considerations.