Question Details

The product of complete hydrolysis of  XeF6 in the following reaction is
XeF 6 + H 2 O ? + HF


Options

A

XeOF 4

B

XeO 2 F 2

C

XeO3

D

Xe

Show Answer

Correct Answer :

Option C

XeO3

Solution :

The correct answer is XeO3.

Let us understand the step-by-step chemical behavior of xenon hexafluoride (XeF6) during hydrolysis to see why this is the case.

Xenon hexafluoride reacts with water in stages depending on the amount of water available. This can lead to either partial hydrolysis or complete hydrolysis.

1. Partial Hydrolysis:
When a limited amount of water is present, the reaction proceeds partially, replacing only some of the fluorine atoms with oxygen:
XeF6 + H2 O XeOF4 + 2 HF
With a bit more water, it can hydrolyze further to form xenon dioxide difluoride:
XeF6 + 2 H2 O XeO2 F2 + 4 HF

2. Complete Hydrolysis:
When excess water is available, all six fluorine atoms in XeF6 are replaced by oxygen atoms. Because oxygen is divalent and fluorine is monovalent, three oxygen atoms replace the six fluorine atoms, yielding xenon trioxide (XeO3) as the final xenon-containing product:
XeF6 + 3 H2 O XeO3 + 6 HF
Therefore, the compound represented by the "?" in the complete hydrolysis equation is XeO3.

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