VSEPR

Inorganic chemistry III

nyanzyme
 -
Cl Cl O=C=O
Chlorine Chloride Carbon dioxide

LEWIS STRUCTURES I
A GOOD WAY TO REPRESENT CHEMICALS

For the Lewis structures for individual atoms, simply write the
element symbol surrounded by the valence electrons.
Draw bonds as lines.
 + -
Na Cl
Sodium Chloride

H1 2
C N
4 5 6 7 8 5 6 7 8

THE OCTET RULE

ATOMS ARE HAPPY WHEN THE OUTER SHELL IS FILLED

An atom can either form covalent bonds to share electrons, or

give/take electrons to form ionic bonds, in order to satisfy their
octet.
H
Likes two
SOCl2
Definitely more than an octet

BCl3 O
6 electrons around B

S
NO
Goodluck. Cl Cl
EXCEPTIONS TO THE OCTET
SOME ATOMS DESIRES ARE UNCONVENTIONAL

The octet rule is so-called because of the combined capacity of

the S and P orbitals forming the outer shells of most atoms.

But how about the others?

 Formal Charge = Valence Electrons Dots Lines

1 3
Total formal charge
Formal charges should
should equal the charge
be as low as possible
of the molecule

2
Negative FC should
be on the more
electronegative atoms

FORMAL CHARGE
SOME STRUCTURES ARE BETTER THAN OTHERS

The formal charge gives a way to evaluate the correctness of

Lewis Structures
1
Is your central
atom eligible?
Row 3 or lower
IF7
2
Does it have a high
formal charge with
the regular octet? H2SO4
3 H3PO4
Add electrons and
bonds until the FC
drops satisfactorily

EXPANDED OCTET
SOME ELEMENTS CAN HOLD MORE THAN OTHERS

The unfilled D orbitals of many atoms can participate in covalent

bonding
1 Electron pairs are either
bonding or nonbonding
Electron domain = either a
bond or a lone pair

2 Electron pairs will repel

each other
Steric number = sum of all
electron domains

3 The shape that has the

maximum separation of
all pairs is the most likely

VSEPR
VALENCE SHELL ELECTRON PAIR REPULSION

This model gives us an idea what 3-dimensional shapes

molecules have
 Linear

CO2, HCN

STERIC NUMBER = 2
 Lone pair = 0 Lone pair = 1
Trigonal planar Bent
120 <120

BCl3 O3
SO2

STERIC NUMBER = 3
Lone pair = 0 Lone pair = 1 Lone pair = 2
Tetrahedral Trigonal pyramidal Bent
109.5 <109.5 <109.5

CH4 NH3 H2 O

STERIC NUMBER = 4
 PCl5 SF4 ClF3

Lone pair = 0 Lone pair = 1 Lone pair = 2

Trigonal bipyramidal Seesaw T-shape
90, 120 <90, <120 <90

Lone pair = 4
Linear
I3 - 180

STERIC NUMBER = 5
SF6 BrF5 XeF4

Lone pair = 0 Lone pair = 1 Lone pair = 2

Octahedral Square pyramidal Square planar
90 <90, 90 90

STERIC NUMBER = 6
IF7 XeOF5- XeF5-

Lone pair = 0 Lone pair = 1 Lone pair = 2

Pentagonal Pentagonal Pentagonal planar
bipyramidal pyramidal 72
90, 72 <90, 72

STERIC NUMBER = 7
 ReF8-

Lone pair = 0
Square antiprismatic
??

STERIC NUMBER = 8
0 Remember that lone pairs are drawn closer to the central atom, and thus
reduce the bond angle between the attached atoms

1 A more polar bond will also draw the attached atoms closer, slightly
nullifying the bond angle-reducing effect of lone pairs

2 A larger central atom will cause the bonding electron pairs to move
further away, decreasing the bond angle between them

VSEPR
CENTRAL ATOM EFFECTS

The bond angles for lone pair-containing molecules are affected

by some properties of the central atom