DAT Destroyer Question

[flossit]

Hi, can someone explain why SO2, SBr2 are polar and XeF4 is non-polar molecule. All of them have lone pairs. I thought if there is a lone pair the molecule is polar, no?

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[rdub]

XeF4 has two lone pairs which make the molecule symmetrical (I think of it as the two lone pairs sort of cancelling each other out). If it only had one lone pair like SO2 then it would be polar.

 

[Crithu]

Hi, can someone explain why SO2, SBr2 are polar and XeF4 is non-polar molecule. All of them have lone pairs. I thought if there is a lone pair the molecule is polar, no?

It depends on the geometry of the molecule. SO2 is in the bent shape (120 degrees) and SBr2 is also bent (109). XeF4 is a square planer meaning that all sides are equal. It also has 2 sets of lone pairs that "cancel" each other.

 

[DAT Destroyer]

Hi, can someone explain why SO2, SBr2 are polar and XeF4 is non-polar molecule. All of them have lone pairs. I thought if there is a lone pair the molecule is polar, no?

You must draw out the correct geometry. SO2 is sp2 and bent, while SBr2 is sp3 and also bent.......yes and they have lone pairs. Usually lone pairs suggest a polar molecule with a dipole but NOT ALWAYS. XeF4 is square planar....and since it is planar, the lone pairs cancel one another out. The molecule is square planar with d2sp3 hybridization.

Hope this helps.

Dr. Romano

 

[flossit]

Thank you all!