Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-chemistry-b-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2022/paper-2/b7/a/iii/solution
Past exam of the chemistry B course of the University of Cambridge 2022 Paper 2 B7 a iii Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
Neutral CO ligands require formal Cr(), hence . With five two-electron carbonyl ligands,A trigonal-bipyramidal molecular geometry is expected, analogous in electron count to . Strong pi-acceptor ligands stabilize a low oxidation state through backbonding, and this five-coordinate structure accommodates the closed-shell 18-electron configuration. The negative oxidation state is a formal assignment; it does not mean that a free chromium dianion is trapped inside the molecule.
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