4.25 6th edition: Polarity of SF4
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4.25 6th edition: Polarity of SF4
For question 4.25 in the 6th edition of the textbook, why is SF4 polar? I thought since the dipole moments pointing towards F cancel out, the molecule would be nonpolar.
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Re: 4.25 6th edition: Polarity of SF4
It has to do with electronegativity. The difference in electronegativity between Sulfure and Fluorine is 2.98 and the electronegativity is large enough for it to be a polar molecule.
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Re: 4.25 6th edition: Polarity of SF4
But wouldn’t the polarity between Sulfur and Fluorine overall “cancel out” to result in an overall nonpolar molecule? The dipole moments are all equal and pointing in opposite directions so won’t they “cancel out”? Does it have anything to do with the fact that Sulfur has a lone pair in the molecule?
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Re: 4.25 6th edition: Polarity of SF4
SF4 has the AXE notation AX4E. Therefore it has the see-saw molecular shape which is asymmetric and the dipole moments do not cancel out.
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Re: 4.25 6th edition: Polarity of SF4
The electronegativity difference between S and F is greater than 0.5, that's why it is Polar.
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