Planar Molecules
- Planar molecules have all their atoms in the same plane
- Eg. linear, bent, trigonal planar and square planar
Examples of planar molecules
The diagram shows molecules which have all their atoms in the same plane with their name and the associated bond angle
- The presence of an sp2 hybridised carbon can force the molecule to adopt a planar configuration (trigonal planar)
- The 3 σ bonds position themselves in a trigonal planar position so that the bonding pair of electrons are as far away from each other and therefore minimise the repulsion between them
The planarity of ethene
Ethene is a planar molecule with two trigonal planar centres around the carbon atoms
The planarity of propene
Propene has two trigonal planar centres around the carbon-carbon double bond and one tetrahedral centre
- The presence of an sp hybridised carbon can also force the molecule to adopt a planar configuration (linear)
- The 2 σ bonds position themselves in a linear position to minimise the repulsion between the bonding pairs of electrons
The planarity of ethyne
Ethyne is a planar molecule with one planar centre: the molecule is linear
The planarity of propyne
Propyne has one planar centre around the carbon-carbon triple bond (linear) and one tetrahedral centre