In #"XeF"_3"O"^-#, does the oxygen occupy the axial position in the trigonal bipyramidal or the equatorial position? and why?

1 Answer
May 13, 2018

Here's what I get.

I think you have made a mistake with your Lewis structure.

In #"XeF"_3"O"^"-"#, the number of valence electrons is #"8 + 3×7 + 6 + 1 = 36"#

If we give each terminal atom an octet, the central #"Xe"# atom must have two lone pairs.

The Lewis structure is

Lewis structure

Thus, the electron geometry is octahedral with the lone pairs occupying the axial positions.

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The molecular geometry is approximately square planar.

Square planar