Consider the following chemical species : XeF₄ , ClF₃ , I₃^- , CO₃²⁻ , SF₄ , PCl₃ How many of the given species have a planar structure?

Step-by-step solution

To determine if a species is planar, we first find its hybridisation, number of bond pairs (bp), and lone pairs (lp) on the central atom using VSEPR theory. XeF₄ : Central atom Xe has 8 valence electrons. It forms 4 sigma bonds with F and has 2 lone pairs. Steric number = 6 ( sp^3d^2 ). The shape is square planar, which is planar. ClF₃ : Central atom Cl has 7 valence electrons. It forms 3 sigma bonds with F and has 2 lone pairs. Steric number = 5 ( sp^3d ). The shape is T-shaped, which is planar. I₃^- : Central ato