Bond angle in
is higher than that in PH3. Why?
Answer
In PH
3, P is sp
3 hybridized. Three orbitals are involved in bonding with three hydrogen
atoms and the fourth one contains a lone pair. As lone pair-bond pair repulsion is stronger than bond pair-bond pair repulsion, the tetrahedral shape associated with sp
3 bonding is changed to pyramidal. PH
3 combines with a proton to form
in which the lone pair is
absent. Due to the absence of lone pair in , there is no lone pair-bond pair repulsion. Hence, the bond angle in
is higher than the bond angle in PH
3.
