Are "CCl"_4 or "CBr"_4 polar?

1 Answer
anor277
Apr 22, 2017

The bond is, the molecule is not................

Explanation:

We could represent the polarity of an individual C-Cl bond as ""^(delta+)C-Cl^(delta-) in that chlorine is more electronegative than carbon, and charge separation, i.e. polarity occurs. And thus the C-Cl bond is POLAR. But molecular polarity is the result of the VECTOR sum of the individual bond dipoles. And thus when we sum geometrically in a vector fashion, the RESULTANT bond dipole is ZERO.............And thus "CCl"_4 and "CBr"_4 are NON-POLAR molecules, whereas "HCCl"_3 and "CH"_2"Cl"_2 are POLAR........

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