NBO Orbital Graphics Plotter
What does the NBOView program do?
The NBOView program creates graphical 1D/2D/3D images of electronic orbitals produced by the NBO (Natural Bond Orbital) program.
You first include the PLOT keyword as an option in the input $NBO keylist of your NBO job.
The NBO program produces a series of "plot files" (say, ETHANE.31, ETHANE.32, ..., ETHANE.46) that can be read by NBOView to produce graphical localized and delocalized orbital images for the chosen molecule.
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• 1-D Profile Images, displaying a profile of the orbital amplitude (or electron density) along a chosen axis through the molecule
• 2-D Contour Images, displaying contours of the orbital amplitude (or electron density) in a chosen plane within the molecule, analogous to a topographical map of the "elevations" (positive phase) and "depressions" (negative phase) of the undulating orbital waveform
• 3-D Rendered Images, displaying photograph-like images of the translucent orbital lobes (blue for positive phase, yellow for negative phase) and the underlying ball-and-stick framework of the molecular skeleton, in a chosen camera and lighting model
• Composite Images, displaying overlays of two or more individual orbital images, effective in depicting the bonding or antibonding overlap of the orbitals and hence the strength of their mutual interactions
• Viewing, Printing, and File Storage Options, allowing images to be stored in bitmap (.bmp) form for convenient display or file conversion by general graphical utilities (Paint, Adobe Photoshop, etc.), as well as in scalable PostScript, native HP LaserJet bitmap, or TechSet bitmap formats for high-resolution printer output.
NBOView performs all functions of the earlier ORBPLOT program, with numerous extensions and improvements. NBOView can accept input plot files from a variety of installed NBO configurations, including those embedded in host electronic structure system (ESS) packages or GENNBO 5.0W or other stand-alone versions. NBOView versions are available for a variety of environments from the technical workstation or mainframe to the PC desktop, and can accept input plot files from either current NBO 5.0 or earlier versions.