Illustrating Concepts in Physical Organic Chemistry with 3D Printed Orbitals

Orbital theory provides a powerful tool for rationalizing and understanding many phenomena in chemistry. In most introductory chemistry courses, students are introduced to atomic and molecular orbitals in the form of two-dimensional drawings. In this work, we describe a general method for producing 3D printing files of orbital models that can be employed with most popular software packages for performing electronic structure calculations and molecular visualization. Methods for producing both solid and mesh orbitals are provided, including pointers for producing a model that is both informative and structurally sound. Finally, numerous examples of various systems of interest in physical organic chemistry are provided in the .stl format for 3D printing, as well as a fully illustrated tutorial for the process.