Question

Carbon tetrachloride is an organic compound with the chemical formula CCl4. It is a

colorless liquid with a “sweet” smell.

i. Using the ground state electron configuration and excited state electron

configuration explain the hybridization of the central Carbon (C) atom.

ii. Identify the orbitals that overlap to form the C-Cl bond. Draw a diagram to show

the orbital overlap.

iii. What is the bond angle of CCl4?

Answer 1

I)

sp3 hybridized

The two C atoms and the O atom are sp3 hybridized. All bonds are formed from overlap with these sp3 hybrid orbitals.

ii)

The two C‒Cl σ bonds are formed from overlap of sp2 hybrids from C with sp3 hybrid orbitals from Cl. The double bond between the carbon and oxygen atoms consists of one σ and one π bond.

III)

CCl4 has a tetrahedral geometry with bond angles of 109.5 °.