Molecular symmetry

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In chemistry, molecular symmetry describes the symmetry present in molecules and the classification of these molecules according to their symmetry. Molecular symmetry is a fundamental concept in chemistry, as it can be used to predict or explain many of a molecule's chemical properties, such as whether or not it has a dipole moment, as well as its allowed spectroscopic transitions. To do this it is necessary to use group theory. This involves classifying the states of the molecule using the irreducible representations from the character table of the symmetry group of the molecule. Symmetry is useful in the study of molecular orbitals, with applications to the Hückel method, to ligand field theory, and to the Woodward–Hoffmann rules.^[1][2] Many university level textbooks on physical chemistry, quantum chemistry, spectroscopy^[3] and inorganic chemistry discuss symmetry.^{[4][5][6][7][8]} Another framework on a larger scale is the use of crystal systems to describe crystallographic symmetry in bulk materials.

There are many techniques for determining the symmetry of a given molecule, including X-ray crystallography and various forms of spectroscopy. Spectroscopic notation is based on symmetry considerations.