The Lewis structure for ClF3 (chlorine trifluoride) can be drawn by following these steps:
1. **Determine the total number of valence electrons:**
– Chlorine (Cl) has 7 valence electrons.
– Each Fluorine (F) atom has 7 valence electrons.
– Total valence electrons = 7 (Cl) + 3 × 7 (F) = 28 electrons.
2. **Identify the central atom:**
– Chlorine is the central atom because it is less electronegative than fluorine.
3. **Draw the skeletal structure:**
– Place the chlorine atom in the center and connect it to the three fluorine atoms with single bonds.
4. **Distribute the remaining electrons:**
– After forming the single bonds, 24 electrons are used (3 bonds × 2 electrons each).
– Remaining electrons = 28 – 24 = 4 electrons.
– Place these remaining electrons as lone pairs on the central chlorine atom.
5. **Check the octet rule:**
– Each fluorine atom has 8 electrons (including the shared electrons), satisfying the octet rule.
– Chlorine has 10 electrons (6 from lone pairs and 4 from bonds), which is an exception to the octet rule.
6. **Final Lewis structure:**
– The final structure shows chlorine with three single bonds to fluorine atoms and two lone pairs.
**Explanation:**
The Lewis structure of ClF3 shows that chlorine forms three single bonds with fluorine atoms and has two lone pairs. This results in a trigonal bipyramidal electron geometry but a T-shaped molecular geometry due to the lone pairs on chlorine. The presence of lone pairs causes repulsion, leading to the T-shaped structure. Chlorine in ClF3 has an expanded octet, which is possible due to its ability to utilize d-orbitals in bonding.