Octahedral molecules
What is here?
You can see ball-and-stick models of sulfur hexafluoride, iodine pentafluoride and xenon tetrafluoride:
- all three molecules have six pairs of outer electrons around their central atom, so
- they all have an octahedral arrangement of electron pairs around the central atom.
Use your mouse (or finger on touch devices) to move or scale molecules. Double tap to stop and start each animation.
sulfur hexafluoride, SF6
iodine pentafluoride, IF5
xenon tetrafluoride, XeF4
Shapes and bond angles
strongest | lone pair – lone pair |
⇣ | lone pair – bond pair |
weakest | bond pair – bond pair |
The central xenon atom in XeF4 has two lone pairs of electrons in the axial positions. The four fluorine atoms occupy the equatorial positions, giving a square planar shape.
Molecule | Bonding pairs | Lone pairs | Bond angle | Shape |
---|---|---|---|---|
SF6 | 6 | 0 | 90° | octahedral |
IF5 | 5 | 1 | 82° | square pyramidal |
XeF4 | 4 | 2 | 90° | square planar |
ICl4– | 4 | 2 | 90° | square planar |
Different sources may quote different bond angles for ammonia and water. The ones shown here are acceptable for AS and A Level examinations.
The tetrachloroiodate ion, ICl4–
tetrachloroiodate ion, ICl4–
These lone pairs repel each other and the four bonding pairs so that the four chlorine atoms occupy the equatorial positions. This produces a square planar structure, even though there is an octahedral arrangement of electron pairs.
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