Group 13 Elements

[Yeprem]

Is it okay for ALL group 13 elements to not have an octet when forming bonds?

[Bronson Mathos 1H]

Yes, I believe all elements in group 13 do not have to form an octet when forming bonds as they are exempt from the octet rule.

[Madilyn Schindler 3E]

I would look at it this way. There are 3 general exceptions to having an octet:
1. When the molecule has an odd number of valence electrons.
2. When the molecule has a central atom with more valence electrons than needed to get to 8.
3. When the molecule has a central atom with too few valence electrons to get to 8.
I think it generally just depends on each molecule. Hope that helps!

[jessicasilverstein1F]

I believe this is correct and that all group 13 elements are an exception to the octet rule

[Jaden Ji 2K]

I think Group 13 doesn't require an octet because they require too many electrons to reach the octet.

[Adrienne Yuh 2B]

Yes! I think all of the Group 13 Elements don't require an octet.

[AmyHo2K]

As others had said, Group 13 elements don't require an octet since they would require too many electrons to get one which is unrealistic.

[derickngo3d]

Yeah, I think this is the case for Group 13 elements.

[Tiao Tan 3C]

It is okay for all group 13 elements to not have an octet because they all have 3 valence electrons that requires an unrealistic amount of electrons to form octet.

[Inderpal Singh 2L]

I agree with everyone else that group 13 elements do not require an octet.

[Isabelle Hales 1J]

Are there any cases when a group 13 element forms a complete octet? Or is this too unrealistic to happen in the molecules we are studying? Should we expect group 13 elements to not form a complete octet and instead become Lewis acids?

[Marisa Gaitan 2D]

Are there any cases when a group 13 element forms a complete octet? Or is this too unrealistic to happen in the molecules we are studying? Should we expect group 13 elements to not form a complete octet and instead become Lewis acids?

I believe you are right. It is too unreliable for group 13 elements to gain 5 electrons since that just is not likely to happen. But yes, in the lecture for example, BF₃ only has 6 valence electrons and can complete the octet if another atom (like a lewis base) provides electrons. And this would be a coordinate covalent bond.

[Eunice_Castro_1G]

Hello! It is all of group 13 elements that are an exception to the octet rule. Hope this helps!

[AmyHo2K]

I had the same question and the responses were helpful. It makes sense why they're not require to have an octet.