PF3 molecular geometry

[Chris Fults 1C]

When drawing the Lewis structure of PF3 would there be one lone pair or a double bond? Also, do double or triple bonds matter in VSEPR?

[salvadoralvizo1J]

P would have one lone pair due to the fact that this has a formal charge of 0. It would also affect VSEPR shape, as it lone pairs have lower pull. Think of the example in class when he pulled the little ball and only the stick was sticking out.

[ElizabethP1L]

Fluorine cannot form a double bond since it only needs one more electron to fulfill it's octet and it's unable to form expanded octets. Therefore, you would expect 3 single bonds and a lone pair on P. For VSEPR, it would not affect the general shape of the atom but angles would differ because lone pairs tend to take up more space. Hope this helped!