Is SiCl4 square planar or tetrahedral?

1 Answer
Nov 18, 2015

"SiCl"_4 is tetrahedral.

Explanation:

The Lewis structure of "SiCl"_4 is

Lewis structureLewis structure

This is an "AX"_4-type molecule, with four "Si-Cl" bonds.

According to VSEPR theory, these bonds must be pointing towards the corners of a regular tetrahedron.

TetrahedronTetrahedron

So "SiCl"_4 has a tetrahedral shape.