Describe the change in hybridisation (if any) of the Al atom in the following reaction.

Question:

Describe the change in hybridisation (if any) of the Al atom in the following reaction.

$\mathrm{AlCl}_{3}+\mathrm{Cl}^{-} \longrightarrow \mathrm{AlCl}_{4}^{-}$

 

Solution:

The valence orbital picture of aluminium in the ground state can be represented as:

The orbital picture of aluminium in the excited state can be represented as:

Hence, it undergoes sp2 hybridization to give a trigonal planar arrangement (in AlCl3).

To form AlCl4, the empty 3pz orbital also gets involved and the hybridization changes from sp2 to sp3. As a result, the shape gets changed to tetrahedral.

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