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Topic: VSEPR Bond angles for molecules  (Read 3634 times)

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Offline SheffieldWednesday4ever

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VSEPR Bond angles for molecules
« on: September 21, 2009, 05:13:34 PM »
Hei,

I know that the bond angles depend on the varying strengths of bond repulsion of the atoms in a molecule. But what I sometimes don't understand is what atoms are stronger repulsed? I see that electrons try to repel each other as much as they can and in a lone pair, my text says "due to the fact that the unshared pairs repel more as a result of more diffused electron regions, the H-N-H angle will be smaller (in a NH3 molecule)."

so for a molecule like Cl2C=O, why are the chlorines more repelled by the O than eachother? I thought it was the other way round as Chlorine has more electrons than O?

Offline Schrödinger

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Re: VSEPR Bond angles for molecules
« Reply #1 on: October 11, 2009, 11:36:07 AM »
Each chlorine is attached to the central carbon by means of a bond only. Whereas the oxygen is attached by means of a double bond. The cloud around the C=O bond repels the chlorines more than the magnitude by which cloud around each C-Cl bond repels the oxygen.

This is what I thought. Please correct me if I am wrong.
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