Question #d5075

1 Answer
Sep 15, 2016

Here's my explanation.

Explanation:

The geometry of B2H6 is

upload.wikimedia.org

Each B atom has a tetrahedral arrangement of bonds, so it is reasonable to assume an sp3 hybridization.

B2H6
(From wps.prenhall.com)

But it is a distorted tetrahedron. The bridging H-B-H bond angles are 97°, but the outer H-B-H bond angles are 120 °.

The bridging bonds are banana bonds.

To understand the bond angles, recall the discussion of banana bonds in the structure of cyclopropane.

The four bonds between the two B atoms and the two bridging H atoms "want" to get close to a square, so the internal bond angle will settle on some value between 90° and 109.5°.

The inner sp3 orbitals get a little more p character, and the internal H-B-H bond angles decrease by about 12°.

Thus, the outer sp3 orbitals get a little more s character, and the outer H-B-H bond angles increase by about 11° to 120°.

That the angle is the same as the sp2 bond angle is just a coincidence.

Molecular Orbital theory gives a better explanation of the structure of B2H6, as in the video below.