4.21. Apart from tetrahedral geometry, another possible geometry for CH₄ is square planar with the four H atoms at the comers of the square and the C atom at its centre. Explain why CH₄ is not square planar?

4.21. According to VSEPR theory, if CH₄ were square planar, the bond angle would be 90°. For tetrahedral structure, the bond angle is 109°28? Therefore, in square planar structure, repulsion between bond pairs would be more and thus the stability will be less.

Moreover, the orbitals of carbon in ground and excited states look as shown below. In the excited state, the electrons from 4 H atoms occupy one 2s orbital and three 2p orbitals. This results in an sp³ hybridisation, which is the hybridisation of a tetrahedral geometry

<p><strong>4.21.&nbsp;</strong>According to VSEPR theory, if CH₄were square planar, the bond angle would be 90°. For tetrahedral structure, the bond angle is 109°28? Therefore, in square planar structure, repulsion between bond pairs would be more and thus the stability will be less.</p><p>Moreover, the orbitals of carbon in ground and excited states look as shown below. In the excited state, the electrons from 4 H atoms occupy one 2s orbital and three 2p orbitals. This results in an sp³ hybridisation, which is the hybridisation of a tetrahedral geometry</p><div><div><picture><source srcset="https://images.shiksha.com/mediadata/images/articles/1741770878php95mEda_480x360.jpeg" media=" (max-width: 500px)"><img src="https://images.shiksha.com/mediadata/images/articles/1741770878php95mEda.jpeg" alt="" width="377" height="185"></picture></div></div>

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