Question

Calculate bond pair PCL2F

Answer 1

To determine the bond pairs in the molecule phosphorus dichloride fluoride (PCl₂F), we first need to analyze its structure and bonding:

1. **Valence Electrons**:
- Phosphorus (P) has 5 valence electrons.
- Chlorine (Cl) has 7 valence electrons, and since there are two Cl atoms, they contribute a total of 14 valence electrons (7 x 2).
- Fluorine (F) has 7 valence electrons.

Total valence electrons for PCl₂F:
\[
5 (P) + 2 \times 7 (Cl) + 7 (F) = 5 + 14 + 7 = 26 \text{ valence electrons}
\]

2. **Lewis Structure**:
- The phosphorus atom will be the central atom, bonded to two chlorine atoms and one fluorine atom.
- Each of the Cl and F will form a single bond with phosphorus, consuming 6 out of the 26 valence electrons (3 bonds x 2 electrons per bond).
- This leaves us with 20 valence electrons to distribute (26 - 6 = 20).

Distributing the remaining electrons around the outer atoms:
- Each chlorine atom needs 6 more electrons to complete the octet (8 - 2 = 6). Since there are two Cl atoms, we use 12 electrons for them (6 x 2).
- The fluorine also needs 6 more electrons to complete its octet, which uses an additional 6 electrons.
- This accounts for all remaining valence electrons (20 - 12 - 6 = 0).

3. **Count of Bond Pairs**:
- The molecule has:
- 2 P-Cl bonds
- 1 P-F bond

So, in total:
- **Bond Pairs**: 3 (2 bond pairs from P-Cl and 1 bond pair from P-F).

Thus, the final answer is that PCl₂F has **3 bond pairs** in its structure.