How many hybrid orbitals are used for bond formation in `SF_(4)` ?

Answer

To determine how many hybrid orbitals are used for bond formation in SF₄ (sulfur tetrafluoride), we can follow these steps:

### Step 1: Determine the Valence Electrons of Sulfur
Sulfur (S) has an atomic number of 16. Its electronic configuration is:
- 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁴

From this configuration, we can see that sulfur has 6 valence electrons (2 from 3s and 4 from 3p).

### Step 2: Determine the Valence Electrons of Fluorine
Fluorine (F) has an atomic number of 9. Its electronic configuration is:
- 1s² 2s² 2p⁵

Fluorine has 7 valence electrons (2 from 2s and 5 from 2p).

### Step 3: Identify the Hybridization of Sulfur in SF₄
In SF₄, sulfur is surrounded by 4 fluorine atoms. To accommodate these bonds, sulfur undergoes hybridization.

### Step 4: Excitation of Electrons
To form bonds with 4 fluorine atoms, one of the 3s electrons in sulfur can be excited to the empty 3d orbital. This results in the following configuration:
- 3s: 1 electron (one remains)
- 3p: 3 electrons (all three remain)
- 3d: 1 electron (one from 3s jumps here)

### Step 5: Count the Hybrid Orbitals
The hybridization involves:
- 1 from 3s
- 3 from 3p
- 1 from 3d

Thus, the total number of hybrid orbitals used for bond formation in SF₄ is:
- 3p + 1d = 4 hybrid orbitals.

### Step 6: Conclusion
In SF₄, a total of **4 hybrid orbitals** are used for bond formation.

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