The orientation of the orbitals, the energy difference between them, their orbital sizes, and distance between the orbitals
Explanation:
1. Orientation
For example, the overlap between two p orbitals is roughly proportional to the cosine of the angle between them. An angle of 0° gives the best possible orbital overlap An angle of 90° means that the orbitals are orthogonal and have zero overlap. An angle of 180° means they are out of phase. There will be destructive overlap, and you will get an antibonding π* orbital.
2. Energy difference
If two orbitals have similar energies, they will have good overlap. The greater the energy difference, the poorer the orbital overlap. For example, a 3p orbital is higher in energy than a 2p. It can overlap efficiently with another 3p orbital, but not as well with a lower-energy 2p orbital.
3. Size difference
As the energy of an orbital increases, so does its size. A carbon 2p orbital cannot overlap efficiently with a chlorine 3p orbital that is twice its size.
4. Distance
The greater the distance between two orbitals, the poorer is their overlap.