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Q.Explain the structure of

(a) XeF6 and
(b) XeOF4
Telangana TsbieTelangana Board of Intermediate Education 2025Subjective· 4mImportance★★★★★
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XeF6 (sp3d3, 6 bp + 1 lp) = distorted octahedral; XeOF4 (sp3d2, 5 bp + 1 lp) = square pyramidal.
XeF6 (sp3d3, 6 bp + 1 lp) = distorted octahedral; XeOF4 (sp3d2, 5 bp + 1 lp) = square pyramidal.

Both XeF6 and XeOF4 are noble-gas compounds whose shapes are decided by VSEPR/hybridisation: XeF6 is distorted octahedral (7 electron pairs) and XeOF4 is square pyramidal (6 electron pairs).

  1. XeF6: The central Xe atom is bonded to 6 fluorine atoms and also carries 1 lone pair of electrons, giving a total of 7 electron pairs (6 bond pairs + 1 lone pair) around Xe. Hybridisation: sp3d3 (using one s, three p, and three d orbitals). With 7 electron pairs, the parent (electron-pair) geometry would be a pentagonal bipyramid, but since one position is occupied by a lone pair rather than a bonding pair, the actual molecular shape is distorted from a regular octahedron - it is described as a distorted octahedral (or capped octahedral) geometry, because the lone pair pushes and compresses the six Xe-F bonds slightly out of a perfect octahedral arrangement.
  2. XeOF4: The central Xe atom is bonded to 4 fluorine atoms by single bonds and to 1 oxygen atom by a double bond, and it also carries 1 lone pair - giving 5 bond pairs + 1 lone pair = 6 electron pairs around Xe. …

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