Carbon can form multiple bonds, but silicon cannot. The CO2 molecules is linear with zero dipole moment. Thus, the intermolecular forces are very small and it is a gas at room temperature. SiO2 does not have any multiple bonding in Si-O bond, due to large size of silicon. However, it is a giant 3-D network structure in which each Si is linked tetrahedrally to four oxygen atoms. Hence, it is a stable solid.
Saturday, February 8, 2020
Why the C-C bond length in graphite is shorter than C-C bond length of diamond?
Graphite has carbon in sp2 hybrid state (33.3 % s character) but diamond has carbon in sp3 hybrid state (25 % s characrer). More is the percentage of s characters, (by Bent rule) more is the bond multiplicity and hence, shorter the bond is. Thus carbon-carban bond in graphite has double bond character but has a single bond character in diamond. Hence, C-C bond length in graphite is shorter than than in diamond.
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