Why are pentahalides more covalent than trihalides?
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Pentahalides are more covalent than trihalides mainly because of the oxidation state of the central atom. In pentahalides, the central atom is in a higher oxidation state compared to trihalides.
This higher positive charge on the central atom pulls the bonding electrons more strongly towards itself, which increases the polarization of the bond.
When a bond gets more polarized like this, it starts to have more covalent character according to something called Fajan's rules.
Fajan’s rules basically say that a bond will be more covalent if the positive ion is small and highly charged, and the negative ion is large and easily distorted.
In this case, the central atom in the pentahalide is more positively charged, so it distorts the electron cloud of the halide ions more easily, making the bond more covalent.
So, even though both trihalides and pentahalides involve the same elements, the higher oxidation state in pentahalides makes their bonding more covalent in nature.
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Hey, so to add on to that—think of it like this: in pentahalides, the central atom is trying to hold on to five halogen atoms, right? That means it's in a higher oxidation state, like +5 instead of +3 in trihalides.
When an atom has a higher positive charge like that, it pulls on the electrons from the halogens more strongly.
This stronger pull makes the electron cloud of the halogen more distorted, which makes the bond more covalent rather than ionic.
Also, remember that covalent character increases when the positive ion is small and highly charged, and the negative ion is big and easy to distort.
So since the central atom in pentahalides is more highly charged, it polarizes the halogen’s electron cloud more, and that’s why pentahalides are generally more covalent than trihalides.
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Alright, so here’s how I think about it. The main difference comes down to how much the central atom charges up. In trihalides, the central atom is usually in a +3 oxidation state, but in pentahalides, it’s in a +5 state.
That extra positive charge in pentahalides makes the central atom pull harder on the electrons from the halogens.
This stronger pull causes more distortion in the halogen’s electron cloud, which makes the bond less ionic and more covalent.
It’s basically following Fajan’s rules—when the positive ion (the central atom) has a higher charge and the negative ion (the halide) is big and polarizable, you get more covalent character.
So, since pentahalides have a higher positive charge on the central atom, they tend to form more covalent bonds than trihalides.
Alright, so here’s how I think about it. The main difference comes down to how much the central atom charges up. In trihalides, the central atom is usually in a +3 oxidation state, but in pentahalides, it’s in a +5 state.That extra positive charge in pentahalides makes the central atom pull harder on the electrons from the halogens.
This stronger pull causes more distortion in the halogen’s electron cloud, which makes the bond less ionic and more covalent.
It’s basically following Fajan’s rules—when the positive ion (the central atom) has a higher charge and the negative ion (the halide) is big and polarizable, you get more covalent character.
So, since pentahalides have a higher positive charge on the central atom, they tend to form more covalent bonds than trihalides.
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