is sulfur tetrabromide polar or nonpolar?
The correct answer and explanation is:
Sulfur tetrabromide (SbBr₄) is a polar molecule.
To explain why sulfur tetrabromide is polar, it’s important to consider the structure and electronegativity of the atoms involved. Sulfur tetrabromide has a tetrahedral molecular geometry, where sulfur is at the center, surrounded by four bromine atoms. The sulfur-bromine bonds are polar because bromine is more electronegative than sulfur, meaning bromine attracts the shared electrons in the bond more strongly. This creates partial negative charges on the bromine atoms and a partial positive charge on the sulfur atom.
However, the overall polarity of the molecule depends on the symmetry of its structure. In the case of sulfur tetrabromide, the tetrahedral geometry is asymmetrical due to the difference in electronegativity between sulfur and bromine. This asymmetry means that the individual dipoles (polar bonds) do not cancel each other out, resulting in a net dipole moment pointing from the sulfur atom toward the bromine atoms. The unequal distribution of charge across the molecule gives sulfur tetrabromide its polar nature.
If the molecule were symmetrical, such as in the case of methane (CH₄), the dipoles would cancel out, and the molecule would be nonpolar. However, since the tetrahedral geometry of sulfur tetrabromide is not symmetrical due to the differing electronegativity of sulfur and bromine, the molecule retains an overall dipole moment and is therefore polar.
In summary, the difference in electronegativity between sulfur and bromine, combined with the asymmetrical tetrahedral structure of sulfur tetrabromide, results in a polar molecule.