1. Draw the Lewis Structure:
* Chlorine has 7 valence electrons.
* Fluorine has 7 valence electrons.
* There are 5 fluorine atoms, so that's 5 * 7 = 35 valence electrons.
* Total valence electrons: 7 + 35 = 42
* Place the chlorine atom in the center.
* Surround it with 5 fluorine atoms.
* Fill in the remaining electrons to complete octets around the fluorine atoms.
* You'll find that the central chlorine atom has 5 bonds (to the fluorine atoms) and one lone pair of electrons.
2. Count the Steric Number:
* Steric number = number of atoms bonded to the central atom + number of lone pairs on the central atom.
* In ClF5, the steric number is 5 + 1 = 6.
3. Relate Steric Number to Hybridization:
* Steric number of 6 corresponds to sp³d² hybridization.
Therefore, the central chlorine atom in ClF5 is sp³d² hybridized.
