Short Answer TypeHow would you account for the following:
Interhalogen compounds are strong oxidising agents.
How would you account for the following:
Sulphur hexafluoride is less reactive than sulphur tetrafluoride.
How would you account for the following:
In the noble gases only xenon forms known chemical compounds.
Long Answer Typei) metallic (non- metallic character) of group 16:
In group 16 metallic character increase down the group. This is due to the fact that the electrons become easier to lose as the atomic radius increases. The increase in atomic radius decreases attraction between the positive nucleus and the negative electrons, causing the electrons to be held more loosely.
ii) Catenation property:
In this group sulphur has strong tendency of catenation. Oxygen also shows this tendency to a limited extent.
iii) Thermal stability of hydrides:
The thermal stability decreases from H2O to H2Po because the size of the central atom (from O to Po) increases resulting in longer and weaker M – H bond consequently the bond strength decreases. This results in the decrease of the thermal stability.
The elements of Group 16 exhibit a number of oxidation states .The stability of -2 oxidation state decreases down the group. Polonium hardly shows –2 oxidation state. Since electronegativity of oxygen is very high, it shows only negative oxidation state as –2 except in the case of OF2 where its oxidation state is + 2. Other elements of the group exhibit + 2, + 4, + 6 oxidation states but + 4 and + 6 are more common. Sulphur, selenium and tellurium usually show + 4 oxidation state in their compounds with oxygen and + 6 with fluorine. The stability of + 6 oxidation state decreases down the group and stability of + 4 oxidation state increases (inert pair effect).
v) Allotropy: All elements of the group 16 exhibit allotropyDescribe the molecular shapes of the following: (i) SF4, (ii) BrF5, (iii) IF3, (iv) PF5, (v) XeF2.
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