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NEET CHEMISTRYMedium

Which of the compounds given below will exhibit a linear structure?

A

NO2NO_{2}

B

HOClHOCl

C

O3O_{3}

D

N2ON_{2}O

Step-by-Step Solution

According to the Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion (VSEPR) theory and the concept of hybridisation, the geometry of a molecule is determined by the number of bonding and lone pairs around the central atom:

  1. N2ON_{2}O (Nitrous Oxide): The central nitrogen atom in N2ON_{2}O (NNightarrowON \equiv N ightarrow O) is bonded to two atoms and possesses no lone pairs. This results in spsp hybridisation and a linear structure with a bond angle of 180°, similar to other AB2AB_{2} type molecules like BeCl2BeCl_{2} .
  2. NO2NO_{2} (Nitrogen Dioxide): This is an odd-electron molecule where nitrogen has one lone electron (or effectively one lone pair). This results in a bent or angular geometry due to electron-pair repulsion .
  3. O3O_{3} (Ozone): The central oxygen atom is bonded to two other oxygen atoms and has one lone pair. According to VSEPR theory (AB2EAB_{2}E type), it adopts a bent geometry with an approximate bond angle of 117° .
  4. HOClHOCl (Hypochlorous Acid): In this molecule, the central oxygen atom is bonded to H and Cl and has two lone pairs (AB2E2AB_{2}E_{2} type). Like water, this results in a bent (V-shaped) geometry .

Therefore, only N2ON_{2}O exhibits a linear structure.

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