Abstract
MOST molecules which have a five-co-ordinated central atom, and the structures of which have been accurately determined, have the shape of a trigonal bipyramid; for example, PF5, (CH3)SbBr2, Fe(CO)5. Nevertheless, in their study of valency theory, Daudel and Bucher1 predicted that a five-co-ordinate molecule may in certain circumstances have a square pyramidal configuration. In their configuration (I), the central atom A is strongly bound to four atoms B at the corners of a square, these five atoms being co-planar; this square forms the base of a pyramid, and the fifth atom C, which is more weakly bound, is at the apex. They considered that this configuration would be most stable when the lower d-orbitals of the central atom are used in forming the bonds, that is, when the hybridization is dsp 3 rather than sp 3 d.
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References
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ALDERMAN, P., OWSTON, P. The Square Pyramidal Configuration in a Five-Co-ordinate Nitrosyl Complex. Nature 178, 1071–1072 (1956). https://doi.org/10.1038/1781071a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1781071a0
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