How many bonding orbitals are in Silicon Tetraflouride, or #SiF_4#?
1 Answer
There are four bonding orbitals in SiF₄.
The Lewis structure of SiF₄ shows a central Si atom attached to four F atoms by single bonds. Since each single bond represents a σ orbital, there are four bonding orbitals in SiF₄.
The Si atom has a steric number SN = 4. This corresponds to a tetrahedral geometry and sp³ hybridization. The Si-F bonds form when an sp³ orbital of F overlaps an orbital of F to form a σ bond.
