Four Atoms One Shape

Chemistry Level 2

What is the shape of the molecule P C l X 3 \ce{PCl_3} ?

Linear Trigonal Planar Pyramidal Octahedral

Harsh Shrivastava by Harsh Shrivastava , 20, India

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2 solutions

P P has 5 valence electrons of it's own. The 3 chlorine atoms provide 3 extra. Hence there are 8 electrons in the outer shell which will organize them into 4 pairs.

Now, it makes sense to place them in the corners of tetrahedron to minimize the potential energy. (See Thomson Problem ). However one of the corners does not have an atom attached to it, making the shape triangular pyramidal.

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The question can also be solved by finding out the hybridization of the PCl3 molecule

Manoj Srivastava - 4 years, 11 months ago
Harshit Mittal
Jul 8, 2016

Based on VSEPR Theory (Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion Theory) the electron clouds on atoms and lone pair of electrons around the P atom will repel each other. As a result they will be pushed apart giving the PCl3 molecule a trigonal pyramidal geometry or shape.

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