Silicon Tetrachloride Acts Like a Strongly Electronegative Atom
[caption id="attachment_5121" align="alignright" width="440"] Silicon Tetrachloride Molecule[/caption] The empirical formula of the compound silicon tetrachloride is SiClâ‚„. The molecule possesses tetrahedral symmetry. This means the atom of silicon is located at the center and the four atoms of chlorine are located at the four corners of a tetrahedron. Each chlorine atom is strongly electronegative, so the molecule of SiClâ‚„ strongly draws electrons. The core, silicon atom is insignificantly electronegative. Elemental Electronegativity Electronegativity is the tendency of an atom or other particle to attract electrons. It is high when an atom is small and outer electrons are least shielded from the positive nucleus. This makes fluorine the most electronegative of elements. Conversely, the alkali metal astatine, is least electronegative. Chlorine, while not so much so as fluorine, is still very electronegative.…