Q.Explain structure and bonding of diborane.
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Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →Step 1. Hybridisation. Section 9.7.4: each boron atom in B2H6 is sp3 hybridised, even though boron supplies only three valence electrons — three of the four sp3 orbitals on each boron are half-filled, the fourth is empty.
Step 2. Terminal B-H bonds. Two of the half-filled hybrid orbitals on each boron overlap with the 1s orbitals of two terminal hydrogens, giving four ordinary, two-centre-two-electron B-H bonds; the two borons and these four terminal hydrogens all lie in one plane.
Step 3. Bridging B-H-B bonds. The remaining two hydrogens bridge the two borons: each bridging H's 1s orbital overlaps simultaneously with the half-filled hybrid orbital of one boron AND the empty hybrid orbital of the other boron, forming a three-centre-two-electron ('banana') bond. These two bridging hydrogens sit symmetrically above and below the plane of the B2H4 unit. …
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