SbCl5 Lewis structure

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SbCl₅ (antimony pentachloride) has one antimony atom and five chlorine atoms.

In the SbCl₅ Lewis structure, there are five single bonds around the antimony atom, with five chlorine atoms attached to it, and on each chlorine atom, there are three lone pairs.

Steps

To properly draw the SbCl₅ Lewis structure, follow these steps:

#1 Draw a rough sketch of the structure
#2 Next, indicate lone pairs on the atoms
#3 Indicate formal charges on the atoms, if necessary

Let’s break down each step in more detail.

#1 Draw a rough sketch of the structure

• First, determine the total number of valence electrons

In the periodic table, antimony lies in group 15, and chlorine lies in group 17.

Hence, antimony has five valence electrons and chlorine has seven valence electrons.

Since SbCl₅ has one antimony atom and five chlorine atoms, so…

Valence electrons of one antimony atom = 5 × 1 = 5
Valence electrons of five chlorine atoms = 7 × 5 = 35

And the total valence electrons = 5 + 35 = 40

Learn how to find: Antimony valence electrons and Chlorine valence electrons

• Second, find the total electron pairs

We have a total of 40 valence electrons. And when we divide this value by two, we get the value of total electron pairs.

Total electron pairs = total valence electrons ÷ 2

So the total electron pairs = 40 ÷ 2 = 20

• Third, determine the central atom

We have to place the least electronegative atom at the center.

Since antimony is less electronegative than chlorine, assume that the central atom is antimony.

Therefore, place antimony in the center and chlorines on either side.

• And finally, draw the rough sketch

#2 Next, indicate lone pairs on the atoms

Here, we have a total of 20 electron pairs. And five Sb — Cl bonds are already marked. So we have to only mark the remaining fifteen electron pairs as lone pairs on the sketch.

Also remember that antimony is a period 5 element, so it can keep more than 8 electrons in its last shell. And chlorine is a period 3 element, so it can keep more than 8 electrons in its last shell.

Always start to mark the lone pairs from outside atoms. Here, the outside atoms are chlorines.

So for each chlorine, there are three lone pairs, and for antimony, there is zero lone pair because all fifteen electron pairs are over.

Mark the lone pairs on the sketch as follows:

#3 Indicate formal charges on the atoms, if necessary

Use the following formula to calculate the formal charges on atoms:

Formal charge = valence electrons – nonbonding electrons – ½ bonding electrons

For antimony atom, formal charge = 5 – 0 – ½ (10) = 0

For each chlorine atom, formal charge = 7 – 6 – ½ (2) = 0

Here, both antimony and chlorine atoms do not have charges, so no need to mark the charges.

In the above structure, you can see that the central atom (antimony) forms an octet. And the outside atoms (chlorines) also form an octet. Hence, the octet rule is satisfied.

Therefore, this structure is the stable Lewis structure of SbCl₅.

Next: N₂O₃ Lewis structure

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