Bond angles VSEPR

The H—O—H angle m water (105°) and the H—N—H angles m ammonia (107°) are slightly smaller than the tetrahedral angle These bond angle contractions are easily accommodated by VSEPR by reasoning that electron pairs m bonds take up less space than an unshared pair The electron pair m a covalent bond feels the attractive force of... 

VSEPR model, the dihalides of Be and Mg and the heavier halides of Ca and Sr are essentially linear. However, the other dihalides are appreciably bent, e.g. Cap2 145°, Srp2 -- 120°, Bap2 108° SrCl2 - 130°, BaCh - 115° BaBri -115° Bah 105°. The uncertainties on these bond angles are often quite large ( 10°) and the molecules are rather flexible, but there seems little doubt that the equilibrium geometry is substantially non-linear. This has been interpreted in terms of sd (rather than sp) hybridization or by a suitable id hoc modification of the VSEPR theory. ... 

The Lewis structures encountered in Chapter 2 are two-dimensional representations of the links between atoms—their connectivity—and except in the simplest cases do not depict the arrangement of atoms in space. The valence-shell electron-pair repulsion model (VSEPR model) extends Lewis s theory of bonding to account for molecular shapes by adding rules that account for bond angles. The model starts from the idea that because electrons repel one another, the shapes of simple molecules correspond to arrangements in which pairs of bonding electrons lie as far apart as possible. Specifically ... 

A molecule with only two atoms attached to the central atom is BeCl2. The Lewis structure is CI — Be — CE, and there are no lone pairs on the central atom. To be as far apart as possible, the two bonding pairs lie on opposite sides of the Be atom, and so the electron arrangement is linear. Because a Cl atom is attached by each bonding pair, the VSEPR model predicts a linear shape for the BeCL molecule, with a bond angle of 180° (4). That shape is confirmed by experiment. 

A sulfur hexafluoride molecule, SF6, has six atoms attached to the central S atom and no lone pairs on that atom (8). According to the VSEPR model, the electron arrangement is octahedral, with four pairs at the corners of a square on the equator and the remaining two pairs above and below the plane of the square (see Fig. 3.2). An F atom is attached to each electron pair, and so the molecule is predicted to be octahedral. All its bond angles are either 90° or 180°, and all the F atoms are equivalent. 

Give the VSEPR formula, molecular shape, and bond angles for each of the following species (a) I, (b) SbCl5 ... 

Write the Lewis structure and the VSEPR formula, list the shape, and predict the approximate bond angles for (a) CF,C1 ... 

Consider the structure of p-azoxyanisole (14). (a) Using the VSEPR model, draw a picture that represents the shape of the molecule and predict the CNN bond angles, (b) What features of the bonding of this molecule give rise to its rodlike nature ... 

Use the VSEPR model to estimate the Si—O—Si bond angle in silica. 

If the central atom has different groups or atoms around it, or if one or more of the vertices of the polyhedron is occupied by a lone pair, then variations in bond angles will occur such that distorted polyhedral arrangements are obtained. In its quantitative forms, the VSEPR model parameterizes each individual interaction and makes very accurate predictions of the distortions which are to be expected. 

Each of the steric numbers described in Sections 94 and 94 results in electron groups separated by well-defined bond angles. If the VSEPR model is accurate, the actual bond angles found by experimental measurements on real molecules should match the optimal angles predicted by applying the model. 

C09-0091. Which of the following molecules would you expect to have bond angles that deviate from the ideal VSEPR values For the molecules that do, make sketches that illustrate the deviations, (a) PF5 (b) CH3 I and (c) BrFs. ... 

C09-0109. Species with chemical formula X I4 can have the following shapes. For each, name the molecular geometry, identify the ideal VSEPR bond angles, tell how many lone pairs are present in the structure, and give a specific example. 

Valence The highest-energy electrons in an atom, which an atom loses, gains, or shares in forming a chemical bond. Valence shell electron-pair repulsion (VSEPR) A procedure based on electron repulsion in molecules that enables chemists to predict approximate bond angles. 

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