Question

How many  $ POP $  bonds are there in  $ {P_4}{O_{10}} $ ??

Answer 1

Hint: In  $ {P_4}{O_{10}} $ , there are six bonds between phosphorus-oxygen -phosphorus and every phosphorus has double bond with oxygen that is there are four such bonds where oxygen is  $ s{p^2} $  hybridized.

Complete step by step answer:

In  $ {P_4}{O_{10}} $ , the molecules are held together in a hexagonal lattice by weak vanderwaal’s forces.

The structure of  $ {P_4}{O_{10}} $  can be represented as follows:

As we can see in the given structure that there are six  $ P - O - P $  bonds present in it and in all these bonds hybridization of oxygen is  $ s{p^3} $  hybridization. Also, each phosphorus atom is attached to one doubly bonded oxygen and totally there are  $ 4{\text{ }}P = O $  bonds present in this structure and in these bonds the hybridization of the oxygen atom is  $ s{p^2} $ . Also, every oxygen in the structure has  $ 2 $  lone pairs on it and a total of  $ 20 $  lone pairs are present.

Also, we can see that for every atom of phosphorus there is one pi bond and four sigma bonds are present in the structure. So, there are a total of  $ 4 $  pi bonds and  $ 16 $  sigma bonds in  $ {P_4}{O_{10}} $ .

Hence, there are a total of six  $ P - O - P $  bonds in  $ {P_4}{O_{10}} $ .

Additional Information: 

The  $ {P_4}{O_{10}} $  compound is known as Phosphorus pentoxide. It is an anhydride of phosphoric acid . Phosphorus pentoxide is a powerful dehydrating agent. It can be prepared from the burning of tetraphosphorus with sufficient supply of oxygen. This reaction can be represented as follows:

 $ {P_4} + 5{O_2} \to {P_4}{O_{10}} $ 

Note:

We may get confused by the concept that there is ten oxygen in the  $ {P_4}{O_{10}} $  but it is called phosphorus pentoxide. This is because the naming of any compound is done by its empirical formula and  $ {P_4}{O_{10}} $  has the empirical formula as  $ {P_2}{O_5} $ . Hence, it is called phosphorus pentoxide.