Question:
What is the shape of \(XeF_6\)?
What is the shape of \(XeF_6\)?
Show Hint
Count Xe's lone pairs first, then think about how a lone pair affects a 6 bond-pair octahedral arrangement.
Updated On: Jul 2, 2026
- Square pyramidal
- Octahedral
- Pentagonal bipyramidal
- Distorted octahedral
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The Correct Option is D
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Count the valence electrons around xenon in \(XeF_6\). Xenon contributes 8 valence electrons, and each of the 6 fluorine atoms is singly bonded, using 1 electron from xenon per bond, so \(6\) electrons are used for the 6 Xe-F bonds. The electrons left on xenon are \[8 - 6 = 2 \text{ electrons} = 1 \text{ lone pair}\]
Step 2: So xenon has 6 bonding pairs and 1 lone pair around it, a total of 7 electron domains. This is described as an \(AX_6E_1\) system in VSEPR theory.
Step 3: With 7 electron domains, the ideal parent geometry for the electron pairs would be pentagonal bipyramidal. However, one of these 7 positions is occupied by a lone pair, not a bonded fluorine, so the actual molecular shape traced out by only the 6 fluorine atoms is not a clean, ideal octahedron. The lone pair pushes into the octahedral framework of the 6 F atoms and distorts it, and this distortion is also known to make \(XeF_6\) fluxional (its exact shape keeps interconverting).
Step 4: So the molecular shape of \(XeF_6\), based on the positions of the 6 fluorine atoms once the lone pair's distorting effect is included, is best described as a distorted octahedron.
\[\boxed{\text{Distorted octahedral}}\]
Step 2: So xenon has 6 bonding pairs and 1 lone pair around it, a total of 7 electron domains. This is described as an \(AX_6E_1\) system in VSEPR theory.
Step 3: With 7 electron domains, the ideal parent geometry for the electron pairs would be pentagonal bipyramidal. However, one of these 7 positions is occupied by a lone pair, not a bonded fluorine, so the actual molecular shape traced out by only the 6 fluorine atoms is not a clean, ideal octahedron. The lone pair pushes into the octahedral framework of the 6 F atoms and distorts it, and this distortion is also known to make \(XeF_6\) fluxional (its exact shape keeps interconverting).
Step 4: So the molecular shape of \(XeF_6\), based on the positions of the 6 fluorine atoms once the lone pair's distorting effect is included, is best described as a distorted octahedron.
\[\boxed{\text{Distorted octahedral}}\]
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