central atom

molecule

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hypervalent compounds

  • crystal bonding
    In chemical bonding: Hypervalence

    …more atoms attached to a central atom than can be accommodated by an octet of electrons. An example is sulfur hexafluoride, SF6, for which writing a Lewis structure with six S―F bonds requires that at least 12 electrons be present around the sulfur atom:

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molecules with no central atom

VSEPR theory

  • crystal bonding
    In chemical bonding: Applying VSEPR theory to simple molecules

    …the electron pairs of the central atom, disregarding the distinction between bonding pairs and lone pairs. These pairs are then allowed to move around the central atom (at a constant distance) and to take up positions that maximize their mutual separations. As in the methane molecule, four pairs adopt a…

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