Arsenic covalent radius

After rising at copper and zinc, the curve of metallic radii approaches those of the normal covalent radii and tetrahedral covalent radii (which themselves differ for arsenic, selenium, and bromine because of the difference in character of the bond orbitals, which approximate p orbitals for normal covalent bonds and sp3 orbitals for tetrahedral bonds). The bond orbitals for gallium are expected to be composed of 0.22 d orbital, one s orbital, and 2.22 p orbitals, and hence to be only slightly stronger than tetrahedral bonds, as is indicated by the fact that R(l) is smaller than the tetrahedral radius. 

The radius ratio is considered important because the central ion must be prevented from rattling around in a cavity (see Orgel, 1966). However, the radius ratio is not a rigorous prognosticator, since the concept applies to hard spheres. It has already been noted that ions may be polarizable and deformable, sometimes with a tendency to directional covalent bond formation. These properties affect models based on hard spheres and the extent to which the radius ratio determines the coordination number of a particular ligand. Thus, .. . we can accept the radius ratio rule as a useful, if imperfect, tool in our arsenal for predicting and understanding the behavior of ionic compounds. (Huheey, 1983). 

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