JEE MainChemistryChemical Bonding and Molecular Structure
Two p-block elements M and N form trichlorides MCl ₃ and NCl ₃ . MCl ₃ acts as a Lewis acid and NCl ₃ acts as a Lewis base. They react to form a stable coordinate complex (adduct) Cl ₃ M - NCl ₃ . The hybridizations of the central atoms M and N respectively in the newly formed adduct are:
Options
- Asp ² and sp ³
- Bsp ³ and sp ²
- CBoth sp ³
- Dsp ³ d and sp ³
Correct answer
C. Both sp ³
Step-by-step solution
Initially, MCl ₃ is a Lewis acid, meaning the central atom M has an incomplete octet and can accept an electron pair. It has 3 bond pairs and 0 lone pairs, giving a steric number of 3 and sp ² hybridization. NCl ₃ is a Lewis base, meaning the central atom N has a lone pair available for donation. It has 3 bond pairs and 1 lone pair, giving a steric number of 4 and sp ³ hybridization. During the formation of the adduct Cl ₃ M - NCl ₃ , the central atom N donates its lone pair to the empty p-orbital of M to form a co