The hybrid orbital having only 20
A. CCl4
B. SF6
C. SF4
D. Cl2O
The correct answer and explanation is:
The correct answer is B. SF6 (Sulfur hexafluoride).
Hybrid orbitals are formed by mixing atomic orbitals of similar energies and are used to explain the bonding in molecules. The type of hybrid orbital formed depends on the number of electron pairs involved in bonding around the central atom. In the case of SF6, sulfur undergoes sp3d2 hybridization.
Here’s how it works for SF6:
- Sulfur (S) is the central atom, and it forms bonds with six fluorine atoms.
- The sulfur atom has six valence electrons, and fluorine contributes one electron for each bond. This creates six bonding electron pairs around the sulfur atom.
- In order to accommodate these six bonding pairs, sulfur uses six hybrid orbitals, formed by combining one s orbital and five p orbitals (3p and 2p), which results in sp3d2 hybridization. This hybridization explains the octahedral geometry of the molecule.
- This octahedral arrangement allows the six fluorine atoms to be positioned symmetrically around the central sulfur atom, minimizing electron repulsion and creating a stable molecular structure.
In contrast, molecules like CCl4 (tetrachloromethane), SF4 (sulfur tetrafluoride), and Cl2O (dichlorine monoxide) have different bonding configurations that involve fewer than six bonding electron pairs, leading to different types of hybridization (such as sp3 or sp3d), not sp3d2.
For example:
- CCl4 has sp3 hybridization because it only has four bonding pairs around carbon.
- SF4 has sp3d hybridization due to the presence of four bonding pairs and one lone pair around sulfur.
- Cl2O involves sp3 hybridization around oxygen.
Therefore, SF6 is the only molecule in the list that uses sp3d2 hybridization, making it the correct answer.