Q34 / 59 · NTA Abhyas (JEE Main) 2020 · Chemistry · p Block Elements (Group 13 & 14)

Which of the following statements is correct?

  • Correct answer
    A
    BCl3 and AlCl3 are both Lewis acids and BCl3 is stronger than AlCl3
  • B
    Both BCl3 and AlCl3 are Lewis acids and AlCl3 is stronger than BCl3
  • C
    Both BCl3 and AlCl3 are equally strong Lewis acids
  • D
    Both BCl3 and AlCl3 are not Lewis acids

Solution

In BCl3,pπ-pπ back-donation occurs between the vacant 2p-orbital of 'B' and fully-filled 3p-orbital of Cl of a B-Cl bond. This pπ-pπ overlapping is not much effective, because of dissimilar sizes of 2p and 3p-orbitals. But in AlCl3 , pπ-pπ overlapping is more effective, because p-orbitals of Al and Cl belongs to the same energy levels and hence, they are of similar sizes. As a result of back-donation, the electron-deficiency of Al atom gets more compensated as compared with 'B' in BCl3 and therefore, Lewis acid character of AlCl3 is lesser than that of BCl3 .

Hence, the correct answer is option: 'A'.

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