The molecule CF4, also known as carbon tetrafluoride, is nonpolar. To understand why, let’s look at its molecular structure and the concept of polarity.
CF4 consists of one carbon atom bonded to four fluorine atoms. The carbon atom is at the center, with the four fluorine atoms symmetrically arranged around it in a tetrahedral shape. This symmetrical arrangement is crucial because it means that the dipole moments of the four C-F bonds cancel each other out.
Polarity in molecules arises when there is an uneven distribution of electron density, leading to a dipole moment. In CF4, each C-F bond is polar due to the difference in electronegativity between carbon and fluorine. However, because the molecule is symmetrical, the individual dipole moments of the C-F bonds cancel each other out, resulting in no net dipole moment for the molecule as a whole.
Therefore, CF4 is a nonpolar molecule despite having polar bonds. This is a common scenario in molecules with symmetrical geometries, where the polarities of individual bonds cancel out, leading to a nonpolar molecule.