What atomic or hybrid orbitals make up the sigma bond between I and Cl in iodine pentachloride, #ICl_5#?

1 Answer
Dec 6, 2016

The #ICl_5# species contain #sp^3d^2# hybridization.

Explanation:

Consider the lewis structure of #ICl_5# and the presence of the bonded species to lone pair ratio of the central atom #I#.

Notice that the electronic geometry of the species is octahedral due to the 6 electron cloud which are present around the central atom.

Because the ratio of bonded species to lone pair is 5:1, the molecular geometry will be square pyramidal , and it's also good to note that you can expect bond angles of 90 and 180 degrees.

Also note that when forming hybrid orbitals, you use #n# atomic orbitals to make #n# hybrid orbitals,

where #n# is the total amount of orbital

The #ICl_5# species will contain #sp^3d^2# hybridization.