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Question

The power of halides of boron to act as Lewis acids decreases in the order :

A
BF3>BCl3>BBr3
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B
BBr3>BCl3>BF3
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C
BCl3>BF3>BBr3
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D
BCl3>BBr3>BF3
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Solution

The correct option is A BBr3>BCl3>BF3
We know that the electronegativity of halogens decreases from fluorine to iodine as we move down the group. Hence, according to this, BF3 should be the most Lewis acidic due to the electron withdrawing nature of fluorine atoms.
However, the order is just the opposite due to back-bonding. Back bonding due to the lone pair of electrons of halogen atom increases electron density on B centre, thereby, reducing its lewis acid character. This back bonding is more in case of BF3 due to similar size of orbitals of boron and fluorine atoms, whereas it decreases down the group due to the increasing size of orbitals as we move from F to I.
The extent of back bonding follows the order BBr3>BCl3>BF3, as orbital match follows the order 2p2p>3p2p>4p2p.
Hence, the correct order is BBr3>BCl3>BF3.

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