Boron shows single oxidation state due to absence of

Options

A. Inert pair effect
B. Screening effect
C. Isotope effect
D. None of these

Answer

A

Explanation

Except B, (which shows only +3 oxidation state), the other elements of group 13 also show +1 oxidation state. The +1 oxidation state becomes more stable as we go down the group. This is due to the inert pair effect. In the case of last element, after the removal of one electron from p-orbital, the remaining `ns^(2)` electrons behave like stable noble gas and do not take part in compound formation. This reluctance of the selectron pair to take part in chemical combination is called inert pair effect. Due to the absence of inert pair effect, B does not show +1 oxidation state