The ground state electronic configuration of S is 3s23p4. How does it ...
S can go into excited state with 6 unpaired electrons due to presence of vacant 3d-orbitals, which are overlapped by six F electrons.
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The ground state electronic configuration of S is 3s23p4. How does it ...
**Explanation:**
The compound SF6 is formed by the combination of sulfur (S) and six fluorine (F) atoms. To understand how this compound is formed, we need to consider the electronic configuration of sulfur.
The ground state electronic configuration of sulfur is 3s²3p⁴. This means that in the ground state, sulfur has 2 electrons in the 3s orbital and 4 electrons in the 3p orbital.
In order to form SF6, sulfur needs to share electrons with six fluorine atoms. Sulfur can achieve a stable configuration by either gaining two electrons or losing six electrons. However, neither of these options is favorable for sulfur.
**Formation of SF6 through Excited State:**
In order to accommodate the six fluorine atoms, sulfur undergoes excitation and promotes one electron from the 3s orbital to the 3d orbital. This gives sulfur an excited state electronic configuration of 3s¹3p³3d¹.
In the excited state, sulfur has access to the 3d orbital, which provides six unpaired electrons. These six unpaired electrons can then form bonds with the six fluorine atoms, resulting in the formation of SF6. Each fluorine atom shares one electron with sulfur, forming a single bond.
Therefore, the correct option is (b) due to the presence of vacant 3d orbitals which provide six unpaired electrons in the excited state. This allows sulfur to form bonds with six fluorine atoms, resulting in the compound SF6.
**Other Options:**
- Option (a) is incorrect because the octahedral shape of SF6 is a consequence of the six bonding pairs around the central sulfur atom, which is formed due to the presence of vacant 3d orbitals in the excited state.
- Option (c) is incorrect because the sp3 hybridization of sulfur only accounts for the formation of four sigma bonds in the compound SF4, not SF6.
- Option (d) is incorrect because the formation of sigma and pi bonds is related to the type of overlap between atomic orbitals, which is not the primary factor for the formation of SF6. The presence of vacant 3d orbitals in the excited state of sulfur is the key factor.
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