IF Lewis Structure & Characteristics: 15 Helpful Facts

by

IF Lewis structure is the representation of electronic structure of the compound, IF chemically named as Iodine monofluoride. Let us define the Lewis structure of IF below.

IF Lewis structure is a simple structure of the compound, IF. It denotes several fundamental facts about the compound by exposing the electronic reaction between Iodine (I) and Fluorine (F) atoms. This Lewis structure is an interest one as two halogen element participates to make IF.

IF Lewis structure is capable of displaying the shape, bond angle, Hybridisation and many other characteristics of IF. We are going to discuss those factors in the entire article.

How to draw IF Lewis structure?

Drawing IF Lewis structure is as simple as Lewis structure of other compounds. Five basic steps of drawing Lewis structure in this section would follow this.

Step 1: Identification of number of valence electron

Valence electron calculation is the most significant and fundamental step to draw the Lewis structure of any compound. IF is the simplest one in the series of halogen compounds. One Iodine and one Fluorine atom share one valence electron with each other to form IF.

Step 2: Choosing reliable central atom

Choosing a central atom is one of the finest criteria for making perfect skeleton of Lewis structure. It can be found that Iodine fluoride is a linear compound with only two atom. Therefore, there is no need to choose a central atom where one I and one F atom exist in the terminals of the bond.

Step 3: Representation of bonds between the atoms

Two simple halogen atoms are forming one bond by sharing one electron in IF. The representation of the sigma bond formed by them is made by putting two electron dots in between them.

Step 4: Identification of lone pairs if any

Lone pair identification is important for IF. This step is signified with the help of VSEPR (Valence Shell Electron pair Repulsion) Theory. After putting electrons for presenting the bond between atoms the remaining electrons and lone pairs are calculated to analyse internal effect in the compound.

Step 5:  Final sketch of the skeleton

Final skeleton is represented by showing of the electrons participates in bonding. The compound the exact number of lone pairs is also displayed with the electron dots around the elements. The final sketch becomes ready to represent by evaluating the electronic shape of the element after bonding.

IF Lewis structure shape

The shape of the compounds is a physical fact that can be obtained after representing skeleton of Lewis structure of the compound. Let us find the shape of IF.

IF Lewis structure shape is linear. This compound is a simple one that holds only one bond and only two different atoms in the terminals of bonds. Therefore, this does not implicate complex shape or molecular geometry.

IF Lewis structure formal charge

Formal charge reflects an internal fact of compounds. This evaluates the amount of charge held by the participative element after binding. Let us find formal charge of IF below.

Formal charge of IF is 0. The formula of calculating formal charge is Formal charge = number of valence electrons – number of nonbonding electrons – number of electron shared (number of bonding electrons/2)

  • Formal charge of Iodine = [7 – 6 – (1/2)] = 0.5
  • Formal charge of Fluorine = [7 – 6 – (1/2)] = 0.5
  • Total Formal charge of IF = (0.5-0.5) = 0

IF Lewis structure angle

Angle between the bonds of a compound can also be depicted from the Lewis structure and molecular geometry. Let us identify bond angle of IF.

IF is made of single bond so there is no relevance in evaluating the characteristic of bong angle for Iodine fluoride.

IF Lewis structure octet rule

Octet rule refers to the rule of making bonds by participating with valence electrons. Let us recognise how F atom and I maintain the octet rule by binding with each other.

IF Lewis structure octet rule says that both Iodine and Fluorine undergoes electronic reaction to fill their valence shell with eight electrons. As both the atoms have deficiency of one electron from having eight electrons in valence shell, they make bonds by sharing one electron with each other.

IF Lewis structure lone pairs

According to VSEPR Theory, lone pairs are interesting features that create effect on the bond angle and shape of the compounds. Let us find how many lone pairs are there in IF.

IF Lewis structure has total six number of lone pairs. Both Iodine and Fluorine have same number of lone pairs as they both are belonging from the same group of periodic table. Lone pairs of IF show similar property and these do not create any internal effect in the compound.

Iodine and Fluorine have seven valence electrons in each. After sharing one electron with each other, both the atom holds six electrons. It means three lone pairs are present in I and F each.

IF valence electrons

Valence electrons are those electrons, which are counted in the last energy, level of the atoms. Let us calculate the total number of valence electron in Iodine monofluoride.

IF has total 14 valence electrons.

  • The number of valence electrons in Iodine = 7
  • The number of valence electrons in Fluorine = 7
  • Total number of valence electrons in IF = (7+7) = 14

IF hybridization

Hybridisation is the fact that gets a new formula after bonding between two atoms. This section would identify the hybridisation of IF below.

Hybridisation of IF is sp3. Individually the hybridisation of F and I is sp3. Steric number of atom determines the hybridisation. Steric number can be calculated by adding the number of bonded electrons and lone pairs.

In both Iodine and Fluorine, the number of bonded electron and lone pairs are 1 and 3 respectively. Therefore, steric number is four and VSEPR theory denotes 4 steric number as sp3 hybridisation.

Is IF solid or liquid?

The state of the molecules or compounds is judged by evaluating the Lewis structure. The formation of the bonding decides the state here Let us judge state of IF below.

IF is a solid compound and chocolate brown in colour. The appearance of the compound is not much hard so it decomposes at a low temperature that is 0 °C. This is due to close bonding between the I and F atom. The solid state of IF is unstable as I is much largest halogen in series and F is the smallest one. 

Is IF soluble in water?

Solubility is water refers to the decomposition of compounds in water. Easily dissociated compounds are called more soluble in water. Let us identify the solubility of IF.

IF is not exactly soluble in water but it Hydrolyses after being contacted with water. The process by which a compound can break H2O into H+ and OH– ions is called Hydrolysis. Therefore, it can be said that IF is capable of breaking water molecule.

Why IF is not soluble in water?

If is not soluble in water due to its formation by only halogen elements. Halogen elements are found to be soluble in organic solvent rather than in water molecules. As the bond strength of IF is low, it breaks the I-F bond and helps H2O to break its bonds and ionise the whole solution.

Is IF polar or nonpolar?

Polarity refers to the separation of electronic charge among internal molecules of the compound. Let us measure this fact for IF below.

IF is a polar compound. This compound is made of two halogens that have huge size difference. The different in size is a factor to discriminate the charge density among the element in a dissimilar pattern and this makes the compound polar.

if lewis structure
IF Lewis structure bond length from Wikipedia

Why IF is polar?

IF is polar due to a huge electronegative difference between Iodine and Fluorine atoms. Fluorine is found to be the last halogen element in group VII and Iodine is the first one in same series. The electronegativity of I is lower than F atom and creates dissimilar charge density in the molecule.

Is IF molecular compound?

Molecular compound are defined as the conjugation between two molecule in a neutral way. Let us identify if IF is a molecular compound or not below.

IF is Molecular. The simplest way of being molecular is the bonding between two single atoms. Iodine and Fluorine show single participation in the formation of IF. It is molecular as there is no free charge present in the simple compound. Moreover, If has a specific molecular weight that is 145.9029.

Is IF acid or base?

Acid and bases are defined by the capacity of accepting and donating electrons to other elements by the compounds. This section would help us to identify if IF is acidic or basic.

IF can be considered as a Lewis acid. Lewis acid are capable of giving space top new electrons. It means that IF has capacity to hold electrons in it’s geometry. IF is a Lewis acid as Iodine contains a vacant d-orbital in which I can easily accept more than one electron without affecting its stability.

Is IF electrolyte?

Electrolytes are capable of carrying electrons or current with the help of free ions or charges in it. Let us identify if IF is electrolyte or not.

IF is a Non-electrolyte compound. The solid If has not extra electron or negative charge to carry out current by it. Therefore, it cannot be considered as an electrolyte in chemistry. However, in molten state it organises ions by breaking I-F bond, which can easily carry electron.

Is IF salt?

Salt are those, which can be completely decomposes in water having no ion in its internal structure. This would be significant to find value of IF as salt here.

IF cannot be considered as salt.  It follows not a single property of salts. This compound is not soluble in water rather it breaks the O-H bonds in water molecule.  Though the compound has no ion in it, it can break easily into ions and it’s solid state of IF is highly unstable as well.

Is IF ionic or covalent?

Covalent compounds can be defined by sharing of valence electrons in bonding whereas Ionic structure refers transfer of valence electrons. Let us define the factors for IF.

IF is a covalent. The valence electrons of both Iodine and Fluorine atoms participate in the bonding and fill the octet of the each other’s. Covalent nature of IF defines that the compound is made of cooperation between the valence electrons of Iodine and Fluorine.

Conclusion

This article has identified the characteristics of linear IF which is the simplest compound in chemistry made of only halogen elements. All the above properties if the compound is signifying that it is an unstable compound. The unnatural size difference between Iodine and F is the key reason to make IF unstable.

Also Read: