The structures of beryllium chloride in the solid state and vapour phase, respectively are
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Solution
The structures of beryllium chloride in the solid state and vapour phase, respectively are chain and dimeric. In vapour phase at above 1200K, BeCl2 is monomeric having a linear structure Cl−Be−Cl. The bonding in BeCl2 is covalent and Be atom accommodates 2 + 2 = 4 electrons in the two sp− hybrid orbitals. Below 1200K, beryllium chloride in vapour phase exists as a mixture of monomer BeCl2 and dimer Be2Cl4
The structure of BeCl2 in solid-state is a polymeric chain structure and each Be atom is surrounded by four Cl atoms. Two Cl atoms are covalently bonded and two are bonded by coordinate bonds.