Q.Why is BiH3 the strongest reducing agent amongst all the hydrides of Group 15 elements ?
Step 1 — Trend in atomic size.
Down Group 15, atomic radius increases: N < P < As < Sb < Bi.
Step 2 — Effect on bond enthalpy and stability.
Larger central atoms form longer, weaker E–H bonds with poorer orbital overlap, so bond dissociation enthalpy decreases down the group:
Step 3 — Reducing power.
A weaker, less stable hydride more readily releases hydrogen (acts as a hydrogen-atom/electron donor) to reduce other species. Since has the weakest bond and is the least thermally stable, it is the most reactive/easily decomposed and hence the strongest reducing agent of the series.
is the strongest reducing agent among Group 15 hydrides because bismuth, being the largest atom in the group, forms the weakest E–H bond — the least thermally stable hydride, which most readily gives up hydrogen and reduces other substances.
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