Question

They hydrogen atom is not actually electronegative enough to form bonds to xenon. Were the xenon-hydrogen bond to exist, what would be the structure of XeH4?
Double-click any atom and type Xe to change the label.
Draw the molecule by placing atoms on the grid and connecting them with bonds. Show all lone pairs of electrons.

Answer 1

Concepts and reason

The attraction of atoms or ions forms the chemical bond. Due to electronegativity, atoms can attract electrons in a chemical bond. A chemical bond is also formed with the help of valance electrons in an atom. Additionally, the bond should obey the octet rule.

Fundamentals

When the bond formed from elements has a higher electronegativity difference, it tends to have ionic bonding. Example: HF In hydrogen fluoride, hydrogen is less electronegative, and fluorine is more electronegative. The higher electronegativity difference leads to ionic bonding. The bonds formed from the elements have more or less electronegativity difference; they tend to have covalent bonding. Example: \(\mathrm{CH}_{4}\) In methane, carbon contains 4 valance electrons, and 4 hydrogen atoms contain 1 electron each. Therefore, both carbon and hydrogen share their electrons and form a covalent bond. The electronegativity difference between carbon and 4 hydrogen atoms is less.

 

\(\mathrm{Xe}=8 \)

\(4(\mathrm{H})=4\)

Total \(=12\)

The electronic configuration of \(\mathrm{Xe}\) is \([\mathrm{Kr}] 4 \mathrm{~d}^{10} 5 \mathrm{~s}^{2} 5 \mathrm{p}^{6} .\) For \(\mathrm{Xe},\) there are 8 electrons present in the outermost shell. Therefore, the valance electron in \(\mathrm{Xe}\) is 8 . Hydrogen has 1 valence electron. Therefore, 4 hydrogen atoms have 4 valance electrons. The valance electron of xenon is 8 and the valance electron of 4 hydrogen atoms is \(4 .\) Therefore, there are totally 12 valance electrons in \(\mathrm{XeH}_{4}\)

 

The structure of \(\mathrm{XeH}_{4}\)

Taking xenon as the central atom, 4 hydrogen atoms form a bond. From the 12 valance electrons, 8 electrons form a bond. The remaining four electrons are placed as a lone pair of electrons around the central atom and form an octahedral complex.