Question

With what neutral molecule is ${\mathrm{ClO}}^{-}$ isoelectronic? Is that molecule a Lewis base?

Answer 1

Isoelectronic species and Lewis bases:

• Two or more species are said to be isoelectronic if they have the same number of electrons or similar electronic structures.
• Examples of Isoelectronic species are $\mathrm{CO}$, ${\mathrm{NO}}^{+}$ and ${\mathrm{N}}_2$ since they all have 14 electrons.
• A species can be termed Lewis Base if it can donate a pair of unshared electrons.
• Examples of Lewis Bases are ${\mathrm{NH}}_3$, ${\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}$, etc.

Understanding the case of ${\mathrm{ClO}}^{-}$:

• The entity which is isoelectronic to Hypochlorite ion(${\mathrm{ClO}}^{-}$) is Chlorine fluoride($\mathrm{ClF}$) as they both contain 26 electrons.
• $\mathrm{ClF}$ is a Lewis base in presence of strong Lewis acid like Arsenic pentafluoride( ${\mathrm{AsF}}_5$ ) and accepting a fluoride ion from Potassium fluoride($\mathrm{KF}$).