What is the molecular shape of PF3?

1 Answer
anor277
Jun 4, 2016

Trigonal pyramidal

Explanation:

There are 4 regions of electron density around the central phosphorus atom, one of which is a lone pair. Given simple VSEPR, a structure based on a tetrahedron is specified. But because we describe structure in relation to atoms, and not electron pairs, the structure of PF3 should be pyramidal, an analogue of ammonia.

This site reports that ∠F−P−F=107∘, so it seems that we are not too offbase. The ∠F−N−F=102.5∘ in NF3 is included for comparison.

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