#XeF_4# contains 4 fluorine atoms and two lone pairs around a central xenon atom. Which valence orbitals overlap to form the four bonds in this molecule?

1 Answer
Aditya Banerjee.
Nov 17, 2016

A new set of degenerate #sp^3d^2# hybridized orbitals participate in the bond formation.

Explanation:

In the molecule given, the central xenon atom forms 4 bonds and 2 electron lone pairs. So, in total six orbitals need to be modified in order to give rise to a new set of degerate orbitals namely, six # sp^3d^2# hybridized orbitals.

So, while bond formation, four of the formed #sp^3d^2# hybridized orbitals participate in bond formation with each F atom.

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