I. Hargittai, D. Menyhárd
Aug 20, 2010
Citations
0
Influential Citations
10
Citations
Journal
Journal of Molecular Structure
Abstract
Abstract Ronald J. Gillespie’s valence shell electron pair repulsion (VSEPR) model has been very successful in research and education within rather well-defined domains of inorganic compounds for predicting molecular shapes and variations in structural features. Considerations of non-bonded interactions have extended its applicability in the realm of smaller central atoms and larger ligands. The structure of xenon hexafluoride played a pivotal role in convincing the doubters of the validity and utility of the model in the early days of its history. Curiously, whereas most of the molecular structures of noble-gas compounds have been excellent examples of the VSEPR model, xenon hexafluoride represents a more involved case. Its structure is still not known in full, but currently it is not known at a much higher level of sophistication than before.