Explain the molecular structures of phosphorus trichloride and phosphorus pentachloride.

Explanation

shape similar to ammonia. The phosphorus atoms is `sp_3` hybridised with one lone pair of electron.

Phosphorus pentachloride is trigonal bipyramidal shape in gaseous and liquid phases. The phosphorus atom is `sp^(3)d` hybridized.
In `PCl_(5)` , the three P-Cl equatorial bonds are equivalent, while the two axial P-Cl bonds are longer than equatorial bonds. This is due to fact that axial bond pairs suffer greater repulsions as compared to equatorial bond pairs.