Question 4.10: Drawing an Electron-Dot Structure for an Ion Draw an electro......
Drawing an Electron-Dot Structure for an Ion
Draw an electron-dot structure for XeF_5^+, one of the very few noble-gas ions.
STRATEGY
Count the total number of valence electrons. Xenon has 8, each fluorine has 7, and 1 is subtracted to account for the positive charge, giving a total of 42. Then, decide on the probable connections between atoms, and draw a line for each bond. In the case of XeF_5^+, it’s likely that the five fluorines are bonded to xenon, a fifth-row atom.
\underset{\ \ \ \ ╲}{F} \ \underset{\ \ \ \ |}{\ \ \ \ F} \underset{\ \ \ ╱}{\ \ \ \ \ \ \ F} \\ \quad \quad Xe \\ \overset{\ \ \ \ \ ╱}{F} \ \quad \overset{╲}{\ \ \ \ F}With 10 of the 42 valence electrons used in bonds, distribute as many of the remaining 32 electrons as necessary so that each of the terminal fluorine atoms has an octet. Two electrons still remain, so we assign them to xenon to give the final structure, which has a positive charge. Note that the xenon atom has a total of 12 electrons around it.
