Chlorine Trifluoride (ClF3)

T-shaped; extremely reactive oxidizer. 2 lone pairs on Cl give unusual geometry. Teaching note: figures illustrate qualitative electronic structure; quantitative benchmarking should use larger bases, dispersion, and experimental structures.

Geometry
T-shaped
Polarity
Polar
Bond angle
~87.5°
Hybridisation
sp3d
VSEPR
AX3E2
Bonds
3 Cl–F σ bonds · 2 lone pairs
Molecular orbitals
28 valence electrons; 3 Cl–F bonds + 2 lone pairs on Cl.
SMILES
F[Cl](F)F

Electron density: spin-paired GPAW (PBE) on an isolated gas-phase geometry; molecular orbitals: restricted mean-field RHF with sto-3g in PySCF unless noted.

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