More than 8 electrons in structure?

[Drew Myers 4G]

Is the presence of the d-block the reason why atoms such as Xenon can go beyond the octet rule?

[John Liang 2I]

Yes! Once you get to period 3 p block atoms (P,S,Cl, etc) and below, the presence of the d orbital allows for the "breaking" of the octet rule.

[Ronak Naik]

Yes, the d-block allows the elements that are at the far right of the periodic table to extend their octet as they will put the extra electrons in the following d orbitals.

[JamieVu_2C]

Yes, the d-subshell and f-subshell allows electrons to occupy more orbitals, therefore expanding its octet.

[mayarivers3I]

Yes, having the d-block is the reason why elements can have more than 8 electrons in their outer shell.