Octet Rule

Key Questions

  • But of course...


    and we see that in many molecules, like the trigonal bipyramidal "PCl"_5, the octahedral "SF"_6, and the square pyramidal "ClF"_5. There are many other examples among transition metal complexes that I won't mention.

    Here, 10 valence electrons surround phosphorus.

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    Here, 12 valence electrons surround sulfur.

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    Here, 12 valence electrons surround chlorine.

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    This is possible because all three central atoms have access to orbitals on the third quantum level, n = 3. In all of these cases, the 3d orbitals can be used, allowing extra space to store more than 8 total valence electrons.

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