Group 13 Halides
Which Group 13 trihalide acts as a Lewis acid due to vacant p-orbital?
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About This Question
- Subject
- chemistry
- Chapter
- p-block elements
- Topic
- group 13 halides
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Year
- 2025
Solution
Correct Answer:
BF3
- Structure of BF3: Boron undergoes sp2 hybridization, forming three bonds in a trigonal planar geometry.
- The Vacancy: One p-orbital on the Boron atom remains empty.
- Lewis Acidity: Because it has an incomplete octet (only 6 electrons), it acts as a powerful Lewis Acid, ready to accept a lone pair from a donor (e.g.,NH3 or F−).
- Trend Factor: Although back-bonding from F to B slightly reduces this acidity, BF3 and BCl3 are the textbook examples of Lewis acids in the group. BF3 is extremely widely used in organic synthesis (as BF3⋅OEt2).
This medium difficulty chemistry question is from the chapter p-block elements, covering the topic of group 13 halides. It appeared in the 2025 exam.
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