Chlorine trifluoride, ClF3, is a vigorous fluorinating agent that has been used to separate uranium — Chemical Bonding / Molecular Structure Chemistry Question
Problem Context
Chlorine trifluoride, ClF3, is a vigorous fluorinating agent that has been used to separate uranium from the fission products in spent nuclear fuel rods.
Write a Lewis dot structure for ClF3.
Sketch and describe clearly the geometry for the ClF3 molecule.
Model Answer
T-shaped
Sketch one other possible geometry and explain why it is not observed.
Model Answer
or
These structures are not favored because they provide less volume for the lone pairs and therefore do not minimize all repulsions.
Identify the hybrid orbitals that are considered to be used by the chlorine atom in ClF3.
Model Answer
sp3d
The electrical conductance of liquid ClF3 is only slightly lower than that of pure water. This behavior is attributed to the self-ionization of ClF3 to form ClF2+ and ClF4–. Sketch and describe the expected structures of ClF2+ and ClF4–.
Model Answer
bent
square planar