--%>

Describe characteristics of halides and oxides.

Halides characteristics

(i) These trihalides are mainly covalent with the exception of BiF3 which is ionic.

(ii) The ionic character of trihalides increases in going down the group.

(iii) Like hydrides, these trihalides have pyramidal structure.

(iv) These trihalides except NX3 can be easily hydrolysed by water.

The inability of trihalides of N to hydrolyse is attributed to the non-availability of vacant d-orbitals in nitrogen.

(v) The trihalides of P, As, Sb (especially fluorides and chlorides) act as Lewis acids and combine with Lewis bases

PF3 + F2  1973_halides and oxides.png  PF5

SbF3 + 2F-  1973_halides and oxides.png   [SbF5]
2-

(vi) The pentahalides in general, have less thermal stability as compared to trihalides.

(vii) All the pentahalides act as Lewis acids. It is because the central atom can easily accept the halide ions due to presence of vacant d-orbital and can extend their co-ordination number.

(viii) PCl5 exists as molecule in gaseous state but in solid state it exists as [PCl4]+[PCl6]- and is ionic in nature. PBr5PI5 also exists in the ionic form in solid state.

Reactivity towards oxygen: the elements of this group combine with oxygen directly or indirectly to form a large number of different types of oxides.

Nature of oxides

All the oxides of nitrogen except NO and N2O and phosphorus are strongly acidic: oxides of arsenic are weakly acidic; oxides of antimony are amphoteric and those of bismuth are weakly basic.

Reason: the change in character from acidic to basic can be explained on the basis of the size of atoms. As the size of nitrogen atom is small and it has a strong positive field, it interacts with water more strongly pulling the electron pair between O - H bond and thus release of H+ ions.

However, this tendency diminishes with the increase in size and therefore decreases the acidic character or conversely increases the basic character.

As far as the stability of the oxides is connected it is found that oxides having elements in the higher oxidation state become less stable as we move down to group. This is because of the import pair effect.

   Related Questions in Chemistry

  • Q : Changes in matter law of chemical

    changes in matter law of chemical combination

  • Q : What are different mechanisms for

    Nucleophilic substitution reactions in halides containing  - X bond may take place through either of the two different mechanisms,S<

  • Q : Problem on relative volatility In

    In vapor-liquid equilibrium the relative volatility αij is defined to be the ratio of the separation or K factor for species i to that for species j, that is,  αij = Ki/Kj

  • Q : Amines arrange in decreasing order of

    arrange in decreasing order of basicity pi pyridine,pyridine,pyrrole, morphine

  • Q : What are emulsions?Describe its

    Emulsions are colloidal solutions in which disperse phase as well as dispersion medium is both liquids. Emulsions can be broadly classified into two types: (i) Oil in water (O/W type) emulsions: in this type of emulsions, oil acts disperse phase and water acts

  • Q : What is Ideal Mixtures Ideal mixing

    Ideal mixing properties can be recognized in the formation of an ideal gas mixture from ideal gases. Consider the formation of a mixture of gases i.e. a gaseous solution, from two mixtures of pure gases. A useful characterization of an ideal mixture, or soluti

  • Q : What are Ethers and its types? Ethers

    Ethers are the compounds with general formula or CnH2n+

  • Q : Molarity based question Help me to

    Help me to solve this problem. 4.0 gm of NaOH are contained in one decilitre of solution. Its molarity would be: (a) 4 M (b)2 M (c)1 M (d)1.5 M

  • Q : Nuclear Magnetic Resonance The nuclear

    The nuclear states produced by a magnetic field are studied in nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.The frequency of the radiation that corresponds to the nuclear magnetic energy level spacings and the weakness of the radiation absorption that must be e

  • Q : Problem on decinormal Select the right

    Select the right answer of the question. How much water is required to dilute 10 ml of 10 N hydrochloric acid to make it exactly decinormal (0.1 N): (a) 990 ml (b) 1000 ml (c) 1010 ml (d) 100 ml