wiz-icon
MyQuestionIcon
MyQuestionIcon
12
You visited us 12 times! Enjoying our articles? Unlock Full Access!
Question

What characteristics do you expect from an electron-deficient hydride with respect to its structure and chemical reactions?

Open in App
Solution

An electron-deficient hydride does not have sufficient electrons to form a regular bond in which two electrons are shared by two atoms e.g., B2H6,Al2H6 etc.
These hydrides cannot be represented by conventional Lewis structures. B2H6, for example, contains four regular bonds and two three centered-two electron bond. Its structure can be represented as:

Since these hydrides are electron-deficient, they have a tendency to accept electrons.
Hence, they act as Lewis acids.
B2H6+2NMe2BH3.NMe3
B2H6+2CO2BH3.CO


flag
Suggest Corrections
thumbs-up
2
Join BYJU'S Learning Program
Join BYJU'S Learning Program
CrossIcon