Linked Questions
27 questions linked to/from Why do compounds like SF6 and SF4 exist but SH6 and SH4 don't?
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Is ClH7 possible? [duplicate]
Chlorine can be $sp^3d^3$ hybridized.
If so, it can form $\ce{ClH_7}$ and then chlorine, being more electronegative, will have (-7) as its oxidation number. But we know that the oxidation number of $\...
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How can PCl₆⁻ be formed [duplicate]
So my teacher told me that PCl6- exists, But how? What I don't understand is that Phosphorus has 5 valence electrons hence a covalency of 5 but this doesn't allow for 6 fluorine atoms to bond with ...
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Can an atom have more than 8 valence electrons? If not, why is 8 the limit?
According to some chemistry textbooks, the maximum number of valence electrons for an atom is 8, but the reason for this is not explained.
So, can an atom have more than 8 valence electrons?
If ...
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Why doesn't H₄O²⁺ exist?
I know this question has been asked previously but I cannot find a satisfactory explanation as to why is it so difficult for $\ce{H4O^2+}$ to exist. There are explanations that it is so because of $+2$...
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Why is it wrong to use the concept of hybridization for transition metal complexes?
I have asked a lot of questions on coordination chemistry here before and I have gone through a lot others here as well. Students, including me, attempt to answer those questions using the concept of ...
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What is the molecular structure of xenon hexafluoride?
Xenon hexafluoride, $\ce{XeF6}$, can be obtained by reaction of xenon with excess fluorine gas.
What is the gas-phase structure of the molecule?
What experimental evidence is there to support it, ...
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What is Drago's rule? Does it really exist?
My textbooks states the Drago's rule in inorganic chemistry as follows:
The more electronegative atom prefers the orbital having more $\mathrm{p}$ character, and lone-pairs or less electronegative ...
user37316
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Hybridization of nitrogen in trisilylamine, (SiH3)3N?
I want to know the hybridization of the central atom in $\ce{(SiH3)3N}$.
I think it should be $\mathrm{sp^3}$, because $\ce{N}$ is attached to three silicon atoms and one lone pair. But actually it ...
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How are the hybrid orbitals of sulfur hexafluoride shaped?
On the fluorine end the fluoride atoms are simply completing a $3p$ orbital.
On the sulfur end one could posit a hybrid of one $3s$ orbital, two $3p$ orbitals and a three inner $2p$ orbitals. However,...
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Why can't NH5 form?
In ammonia a nitrogen atom forms 3 covalent bonds with hydrogen atoms and has one lone pair which can be used in a dative covalent bond with another hydrogen atom to form an ammonium ion. Instead of ...
user67215
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Why only two atoms share an electron and not three?
In a covalent bond between two atoms, an electron from one of the either atom is shared by overlapping of their orbitals.
So,
Why can't three atoms share an electron and overlap their orbitals?
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Why does potassium form peroxides but sodium does not?
As we go down the periodic table, Group 1 alkali metals hold their single outer valence electron more loosely, and so reactivity increases. Below potassium (Na, Li), we can store the metal in oil with ...
user467
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How is the bonding in the [Au6C(PPh3)6]2+ cluster explained?
How can carbon form six bonds in such a compound as $\ce{[Au6C(PPh3)6]^2+}?$ I understand how carbon with five bonds can be formed $(\ce{CH5+},$ for instance), but it shouldn't have enough electrons ...
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Why can sulfur have an expanded octet but not oxygen?
In my search to understand the bonding in structures like $\ce{SF6}$ I found many sources that said it was because sulfur has d orbitals to accommodate an expanded octet, which made sense to me. But I ...
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What does reaction exothermicity say about the stability of molecules
If a reaction is exothermic it means that the energy state of the products is lower than that of the reactants so this will be the state that 'nature' will naturally strive for. Often you see that ...
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