Cl2 Molecular Geometry - Science Education and Tutorials

Chlorine gas(Cl2) has the composition of one chlorine and one chlorine atom. What is the molecular geometry of chlorine gas?. Drawing and predicting the Cl2 molecular geometry is very easy by following the given method. Here in this post, we described step by step how to construct Cl2 molecular geometry. Chlorine and chlorine come from the 17th family groups in the periodic table. Chlorine and chlorine have seven and seven valence electrons respectively.

Table of Contents

Key Points To Consider When drawing The Cl2 Molecular Geometry

A three-step approach for drawing the Cl2 molecular can be used. The first step is to sketch the molecular geometry of the Cl2 molecule, to calculate the lone pairs of the electron in the terminal chlorine atom; the second step is to calculate the Cl2 hybridization, and the third step is to give perfect notation for the Cl2 molecular geometry.

The Cl2 molecular geometry is a diagram that illustrates the number of valence electrons and bond electron pairs in the Cl2 molecule in a specific geometric manner. The geometry of the Cl2 molecule can then be predicted using the Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion Theory (VSEPR Theory) and molecular hybridization theory, which states that molecules will choose the Cl2 geometrical shape in which the electrons have from one another in the specific molecular structure.

Finally, you must add their bond polarities characteristics to compute the strength of the one Cl-Cl single bonds (dipole moment properties of the Cl2 molecular geometry). One chlorine-chlorine single bonds in the chlorine gas(Cl2), for example, are polarized toward the more electronegative value chlorine atom, and because (Cl-Cl) single bonds have the same size and polarity, their sum is nonzero due to the Cl2 molecule’s bond dipole moment due to pulling the electron cloud to the two side of linear or tetrahedral geometry, and the Cl2 molecule is classified as a nonpolar molecule.

The molecule of chlorine gas(with tetrahedral shape Cl2 molecular geometry) is tilted at 180 degrees bond angle of Cl-Cl. It has a difference in electronegativity values between chlorine and chlorine atoms, with chlorine’s pull the electron cloud being greater than chlorine. But the bond polarity of Cl-Cl is not canceled to each other in the linear or tetrahedral geometry. As a result, it has a nonzero permanent dipole moment in its molecular structure. The Cl2 molecule has a nonzero dipole moment due to an unequal charge distribution of negative and positive charges in the linear or tetrahedral geometry.

Overview: Cl2 electron and molecular geometry

According to the VSEPR theory, the Cl2 molecule ion possesses linear or tetrahedral molecular geometry. Because the center atom, chlorine, has one Cl-Cl single bond with the one chlorine atom surrounding it. The Cl-Cl bond angle is 180 degrees in the tetrahedral Cl2 molecular geometry. The Cl2 molecule has a linear or tetrahedral geometry shape because it contains one chlorine atom in the tetrahedral and three corners with three lone pairs of electrons.

There is one Cl-Cl single bond at the Cl2 molecular geometry. After linking the one chlorine atom and three lone pairs of electrons on the chlorine atom in the tetrahedral form, it maintains the tetrahedral-shaped structure. In the Cl2 molecular geometry, the Cl-Cl single bond has stayed in the one terminal and three lone pairs of electrons on the chlorine atom of the tetrahedral molecule.

The center chlorine atom of Cl2 has three lone pairs of electrons, resulting in tetrahedral Cl2 electron geometry. However, the molecular geometry of Cl2 looks tetrahedral or linear-shaped and has three lone pairs of electrons on the chlorine of the Cl2 geometry. It’s the Cl2 molecule’s slight symmetrical geometry. As a result, the Cl2 molecule is slightly nonpolar.

How to find Cl2 hybridization and molecular geometry

Calculating lone pairs of electrons on chlorine in the Cl2 geometry:

1.Determine the number of lone pairs of electrons in the core chlorine atom of the Cl2 Lewis structure. Because the lone pairs of electrons on the chlorine atom are mostly responsible for the Cl2 molecule geometry planar, we need to calculate out how many there are on the terminal chlorine atom of the Cl2 Lewis structure.

Use the formula below to find the lone pair on the chlorine atom of the Cl2 molecule.

L.P(Cl) = V.E(Cl) – N.A(Cl-Cl)

Lone pair on the terminal chlorine atom in Cl2 = L.P(Cl)

The core terminal chlorine atom’s valence electron in Cl2 = V.E(Cl)

Number of Cl-Cl bond = N.A (Cl-Cl)

calculation for chlorine atom lone pair in Cl2 molecule.

For instance of Cl2, the terminal atom, chlorine, has seven electrons in its outermost valence shell, one Cl-Cl single bond connection. This gives a total of one connection.

As a result of this, L.P(Cl) = (7 –1)=6

The lone pair of electrons in the chlorine atom of the Cl2 molecule is three.

Calculating lone pair of electrons on chlorine in the Cl2 geometry:

Finding lone pair of electrons for the terminal chlorine atom is similar to the terminal chlorine atom. We use the following formula as given below

Use the formula below to find the lone pair on the chlorine atom of the Cl2 molecule.

L.P(Cl) = V.E(Cl) – N.A(Cl-Cl)

Lone pair on the terminal chlorine atom in Cl2 = L.P(Cl)

Terminal chlorine atom’s valence electron in Cl2= V.E(Cl)

Number of Cl-Cl bonds = N.A ( Cl-Cl)

calculation for chlorine atom lone pair in Cl2 molecule.

For instance of Cl2, their terminal atoms, chlorine, have seven electrons in its outermost valence shell, one Cl-Cl single bond connection. This gives a total of one Cl-Cl single bond connection. But we are considering only one connection for the calculation.

As a result of this, L.P(Cl) = (7 –1)=6

The lone pair of electrons in the chlorine atom of the Cl2 molecule is six. One chlorine atom is connected with the terminal chlorine atom.

In the Cl2 electron geometry structure, the lone pairs on the terminal chlorine atom are three, lone pairs of electrons in the chlorine atom have zero. One chlorine atom has no lone pairs of electrons.

It means there are three lone pairs of electrons in the core chlorine atom. Three lone pair of electrons on the terminal chlorine atom are responsible for the linear or tetrahedral nature of Cl2 molecular geometry. But in the structure chlorine atoms are polarized sidewise in their linear or tetrahedral geometry.

The three lone pairs of electrons are placed at another side of the Cl2 geometry. Because the chlorine atom is a lower electronegativity value as compared with other atoms in the Cl2 molecule. One chlorine atom is polarized towards the sidewise in the Cl2 structure.

But in reality, the Cl2 has three lone pairs of electrons in its structure. This makes the Cl2 more asymmetrical in the structure of the molecule. Because there is electric repulsion between bond pairs and lone pairs.

But some sort of interaction is there between chlorine empty hole and lone pairs of electrons of chlorine of another Cl2 molecule. Here, chlorine of one molecule acts as an acceptor and chlorine of another molecule as a donor. This is called chlorine bonding between the two Cl2 molecules. This is one of the main intermolecular forces in Cl2.

But in the terminal, a chlorine atom has three lone pairs of electrons and these lone pair electrons are placed in the three corners of the tetrahedral.

Calculate the number of molecular hybridizations of the Cl2 molecule

What is Cl2 hybridization? This is a very fundamental question in the field of molecular chemistry. All the molecules are made of atoms. In chemistry, atoms are the fundamental particles. There are four different types of orbitals in chemistry. They are named s, p, d, and f orbitals.

The entire periodic table arrangement is based on these orbital theories. Atoms in the periodic table are classified as follows:

s- block elements

p- block elements

d-block elements

f-block elements

Atoms are classified in the periodic table

The Cl2 molecule is made of one chlorine and chlorine atom. The chlorine and chlorine atoms have s and p orbitals. But the chlorine atom has only s orbital in the ground state. chlorine comes as the first element in the periodic table. The chlorine atom also belongs to the halogen family group. But it falls as the third element in the periodic table.

When these atoms combine to form the Cl2 molecule, its atomic orbitals are mixed and form unique molecular orbitals due to hybridization.

How do you find the Cl2 molecule’s hybridization? We must now determine the molecular hybridization number of Cl2.

The formula of Cl2 molecular hybridization is as follows:

No. Hyb of Cl2= N.A(Cl-Cl bond) + L.P(Cl)

No. Hy of Cl2 = the number of hybridizations of Cl2

Number of Cl-Cl bonds = N.A (Cl-Cl bonds)

Lone pair on the terminal chlorine atom = L.P(Cl)

Calculation for hybridization number for Cl2 molecule

In the Cl2 molecule, chlorine is a core terminal atom with one chlorine atom connected to it. It has three lone pairs of electrons on chlorine. The number of Cl2 hybridizations (No. Hyb of Cl2) can then be estimated using the formula below.

No. Hyb of Cl2= 3+1=4

The Cl2 molecule ion hybridization is four. The chlorine and chlorine atoms have s and p orbitals. The sp3 hybridization of the Cl2 molecule is formed when one s orbital and three p orbitals join together to form the Cl2 molecular orbital.

Molecular Geometry Notation for Cl2 Molecule :

Determine the form of Cl2 molecular geometry using VSEPR theory. The AXN technique is commonly used when the VSEPR theory is used to calculate the shape of the Cl2 molecule.

The AXN notation of Cl2 molecule is as follows:

The terminal chlorine atom in the Cl2 molecule is denoted by the letter A.

The bound pairs (one Cl-Cl bonds) of electrons to the core chlorine atom are represented by X.

The lone pairs of electrons on the terminal chlorine atom are denoted by the letter N.

Notation for Cl2 molecular geometry

We know that Cl2 is the core atom, with seven electrons pair bound (one Cl-Cl) and three lone pairs of electrons. The general molecular geometry formula for Cl2 is AX1N3.

According to the VSEPR theory, if the Cl2 molecule ion has an AX1N3 generic formula, the molecular geometry and electron geometry will both be tetrahedral or linear-shaped forms.

Name of Molecule	chlorine gas
Chemical molecular formula	Cl2
Molecular geometry of Cl2	Tetrahedral or linear
Electron geometry of Cl2	Tetrahedral or linear
Hybridization of Cl2	sp3
Bond angle (Cl-Cl)	180º degree
Total Valence electron for Cl2	14
The formal charge of Cl2 on chlorine	0

Summary:

In this post, we discussed the method to construct Cl2 molecular geometry, the method to find the lone pairs of electrons in the terminal Cl2 atom, Cl2 hybridization, and Cl2 molecular notation. Need to remember that, if you follow the above-said method, you can construct the Cl2 molecular structure very easily.