Incomplete Octets.

[Miguel Hernandez LEC 3]

The textbook mentions that Boron is the most common example of an element with an incomplete octet. What are some other examples of this phenomenon and when can we be sure that an octet will not be completed? For example, in Trifluoride, there are enough electrons to the point where boron can complete its octet however this is not the case.

[205538966]

Boron is one of the exceptions to the octet rule in which the octet is incomplete, and thus it only has 6 valence electrons instead of 8 to become stable. Boron has 3 valence electrons, they react to only form 3 bonds which stabilizes the atom with 6 electrons.

[Ryan Lim 2I]

I believe other examples of incomplete octets can appear in beryllium and aluminum compounds.