Why is PCl5 stable?

Answer: PCl5 is unstable because phosphorus forms 5 bonds with cl atoms out of which the two axial bonds have more Bond length than three equatorial Bond length this result in repulsion and thereby making the axial bonds weak.

Why is PCl5 an exception to the octet rule?

Phosphorus pentachloride: In the PCl5 molecule, the central phosphorus atom is bonded to five Cl atoms, thus having 10 bonding electrons and violating the octet rule.

Is PCl5 a stable compound?

PCl5 and PbCl4 are thermally unstable.

Why can P have more than 8 electrons?

Unlike atoms from periods one and two that only have the s and p orbitals (total of 8 valence electrons), atoms like phosphorus, sulfur, and chlorine can have more than 8 electrons because they are not restricted to the s and p orbitals and have a d orbital for additional electrons needed for bonding.

Why does P have 10 electrons?

Phosphorus pentachlorideIn the PCl5 molecule, the central phosphorus atom is bonded to five Cl atoms, thus having 10 bonding electrons and violating the octet rule.

Why is PCl5 more stable than NCl5?

PCl5 forms five bonds by using the d-orbitals to “expand the octet” and have more “places” to put bonding pairs of electrons. NCl5 does not exist because there are no d-orbitals in the second energy level. Reason: d− orbital in P−atom takes part in chemical bonding, this lacks in N− atom.

Why is P Stable With its expanded octet in PCl5?

Re: Why does PCl5 break the Octet Rule? This is because Phosphorous is in the 3rd energy level, which means it can access the d-orbitals in order to have an expanded octet and form more than 4 bonds.

What is the electron configuration for P?

[Ne] 3s² 3p³
Phosphorus/Electron configuration

Why can sulfur have 10 electrons?

Now sulfur has 6 unpaired electrons which means it can form 6 covalent bonds to give a total of 12 electrons around its valence shell. So in addition to being octet, sulfur can expand octet to have 10 or 12 electrons.

How many electrons are there in the covalent bonds surrounding the phosphorus atom in pocl3?

In the Lewis structure for POCl3 there are a total of 32 valence electrons. If you check the formal charges for POCl3 you’ll find that you need a double bond between the Phosphorous and Oxygen atom in order to have the formal charges equal zero.