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JEE Main 2017 · Chemistry · Chemical Bonding and Molecular Structure · medium

The correct order of the bond angle (central atom) in PH3, NF3, OF2, H2O and NH3 is

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The correct order of the bond angle (central atom) in PH3\mathrm{PH_3}, NF3\mathrm{NF_3}, OF2\mathrm{OF_2}, H2O\mathrm{H_2O} and NH3\mathrm{NH_3} is
  1. A. PH3<OF2<NF3<H2O<NH3\mathrm{PH_3<OF_2<NF_3<H_2O<NH_3}
  2. B. NF3<PH3<OF2<H2O<NH3\mathrm{NF_3<PH_3<OF_2<H_2O<NH_3}
  3. C. PH3<NF3<H2O<OF2<NH3\mathrm{PH_3<NF_3<H_2O<OF_2<NH_3}
  4. D. PH3<NF3<OF2<H2O<NH3\mathrm{PH_3<NF_3<OF_2<H_2O<NH_3}
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Answer: (D) PH3<NF3<OF2<H2O<NH3\mathrm{PH_3<NF_3<OF_2<H_2O<NH_3}

Central atoms of the third period (PH3\mathrm{PH_3}) use almost pure pp orbitals, so its angle is about 93.5∘93.5^\circ, the smallest. For NH3\mathrm{NH_3} (lp + 3 bp), the bonded pairs lie close to N, so the angle is large (107∘107^\circ); in NF3\mathrm{NF_3} electronegative F pulls the bonding pairs away from N, reducing the bp-bp repulsion (102.3∘102.3^\circ). H2O\mathrm{H_2O} has 104.5∘104.5^\circ, while OF2\mathrm{OF_2} has 103.8∘103.8^\circ (F pulls electrons away from O). Order: PH3(93.5)<NF3(102.3)<OF2(103.8)<H2O(104.5)<NH3(107)\mathrm{PH_3}(93.5)<\mathrm{NF_3}(102.3)<\mathrm{OF_2}(103.8)<\mathrm{H_2O}(104.5)<\mathrm{NH_3}(107).
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