Is ICl4 Polar or Nonpolar?

The molecule ICl4 (Iodine tetrachloride) is considered nonpolar. To understand why, we need to look at its molecular geometry and the electronegativity of the atoms involved.

ICl4 has a central iodine atom bonded to four chlorine atoms. The molecular geometry of ICl4 is square planar. In a square planar arrangement, the polar bonds (I-Cl) effectively cancel each other out because they are symmetrically arranged around the central iodine atom.

Even though the I-Cl bonds are polar due to the difference in electronegativity between iodine and chlorine, the symmetrical shape means that the dipole moments point in opposite directions, resulting in a net dipole moment of zero. Thus, the overall structure of ICl4 is nonpolar.

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