Structures of Fluorides and Oxides of Xenon

Aiming to score high marks in IIT JEE Mains? Structures of fluorides and oxides of Xenon are one of the essential topics in chemistry for IIT JEE (Mains). For students appearing for board exams or planning to sit for national level entrance examinations such as IIT JEE Mains, Advance, or NEET, Structures of fluorides and oxides of Xenon is a crucial topic that covers a wide part of their paper. Thus, to gain a better understanding of this topic, Unacademy has decided to help you throughout the process. 

Unacademy has curated the best study material for you all which will help you pass with flying colors. Today, in this article, we will be explaining your Structures of fluorides and oxides of Xenon and other crucial topics related to the same so make sure you stick with us till the end. Without any further ado, let’s dive into it.  

What are fluorides? 

Fluoride is the negatively charged ion of the fluorine element donated by F. However; the fluoride is often given as F-. Any organic or inorganic compound which contains fluorine is termed as fluoride. 

What is Xenon? 

Xenon is one of the heaviest gasses of group 18 in the periodic table. Symbolized by Xe, it is a chemical element, which is found to develop true chemical compounds. Xenon is nearly 5 times heavier than air, tasteless, odorless, and colorless.

Properties of Xenon 

Xenon occurs extremely low as gasses in the earth to the extent that it only exists up to 1 part in 10 million by volume or 0.0000086% of total dry air. Like most noble gas, Xenon is a part of meteorites. Using the fractional distillation of liquid air, Xenon can be formed at a small scale. With a boiling point of −108.0 °C, Xenon is the most volatile noble gas. In order to produce short light flashes, Xenon is used in lamps such as stroboscopes and several lights to fulfill the purpose of high-speed photography. 

Compounds 

In 1962 Neil Bartlett discovered that chemical compounds could be formed by Xenon. After 1962, a massive amount of xenon compounds were discovered and also explained. It was believed that nearly all known Xenon compounds consist of fluorine or oxygen, the electronegative atoms. When compared to other elements such as iodine, the xenon chemistry in all oxidation states is analogous. 

What are the Oxidation States? 

Oxidation state or popularly known as the OS, is a specific number that is given to different elements of several chemical combinations. This number represents the electron quantity gained or lost by an element’s atom. The other name of oxidation state is the oxidation number used to determine the changes happening regularly in a redox reaction. Its numerical representation is the same as that of valence electrons, but it’s not exactly the same. 

In order to understand what an oxidation state really means, it is crucial to know that elements are supposed to behave as oxidation reducing agents leading to the release of electrons. 

Lowest and the Highest Oxidation States 

Although oxidation involves the rapid rise in oxidation state, its decrease is given by reduction. In simple words, in a chemical reaction, if the oxidation state increases, it is termed as oxidation, whereas if the oxidation state decreases, it is termed as reduction. −4 has been marked as the lowest known oxidation state or OS, whereas the highest oxidation state is +9 for tetroxoiridium (IX). 

Oxides and Oxohalides

Xenon trioxide (XeO3) and xenon tetroxide (XeO4) (two of the most dangerously powerful oxidizing agents), and xenon dioxide (XeO2), are the three most popular oxides of Xenon were examined in 2011 with the coordination number as 4. If xenon tetrafluoride is mixed with ice, it produces XeO. The crystal structure of the Xenon allows it to substitute the silicon in the silicate mineral. 

Structures of the Xenon Compounds 

Structures of the Xenon compounds can be easily understood based on the concept of hybridization and VSEPR theory. Below, the table showcases the structures of Xenon and their compounds. Let’s have a look- 

Application of Xenon 

Let’s understand the various uses of Xenon- 

• Optics and illumination 

Gas-discharge lamps – Also known as xenon flash lamps, the Xenon is widely used in devices that include light emitting. Apart from this, Xenon is important for high-speed photography and stroboscopic lamps. 

• Lasers 

In 1962, at Bell Laboratories, a group of renowned researchers highlighted the laser action in Xenon. Later, it was concluded that laser gain was constantly improving by adding helium to it. 

Conclusion 

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