Question

Hybridization is a phenomenon that takes place in an atom before chemical
bonding. Why? Explain using SnCl4 as an example.

Answer 1

Answer:

In Science, we build models to explain how nature works. One of the first models to explain why elements combine with each other to form bonds was based on the concept of OCTET rule. This was called the Kossel and Lewis approach. According to this model, elements form bonds so that they can have 8 electrons in their outermost orbit and thus can complete their OCTET (Octa=8). The success of model depends on its power of explaining things without exception. We got many exceptions to this model like BF3 and BeCl2. In both of these molecules, the central atoms like B and Be are not at all completing their octet and still they are forming the bond. There were other exceptions too like PCl5 and SF6 where the central atoms like P and S had more than 8 electrons. This was more than an Octet. This contradictory evidence was more than enough to dump the octet model. Scientists soon realise there was something more to the elements than fulfilling their octet. New generation scientists championed a new model which was based on the importance of STABILITY by minimising POTENTIAL ENERGY. As a chemical system, you can decrease by potential energy by maximising attraction and minimising repulsion. This model explained why elements can form more or less bond than an octet. This also led to the introduction of the concept of hybridization where elements could take risk of exciting their electron but for the good. The electrons excite and move to a different orbit. A more number of electrons get unpaired and thus number of bonds can be formed.

Hybridization, as we know in Biology, is crossing of two species which results in offspring which has best qualities of both parents. Similarly, in chemistry atomic orbitals of similar energy or minimum energy difference combine or overlap to form the new set of orbitals which are better than their parent orbitals in the following sense.Advantages of Hybridization:1. Better in terms of bond formation and further overlapping2. Better in terms of stability.3. They have less energy compared to the sum total of the energies of parent orbitals combined.

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