Which of the following statement about boron halides is WRONG ?

Options

A. They form tetrahedral molecules
B. They react with ethers to form addition compounds
C. They all hydrolyse in water
D. They are all strong Lewis acids

Answer

A

Explanation

In boron trihalides the boron atom is two electron short of the inert gas configuration , Hence, they can accept a pair of electrons and are, therefore , Lewis acids. They hydrolyse in water forming `H_3BO_3` and `HX(BX_3 + 3H_2O to H_3BO_3 + 3HX)` . They form addition compounds with ethers one of the lone pairs of electrons on the O atom in the ether is donated to the electron deficient B atom is B x 3 . In boron trihalides, the central B atom is `sp^2` hybridized and therefore the molecules are planar (and not tetrahedral )