JEE Main 2023 — Chemical Bonding And Molecular Structure Question with Solution

A square pyramidal structure has five bonds and one lone pair, making a total of six electron pairs around the central atom. The geometry of such a molecule can be analyzed using the VSEPR theory.

1. ${\mathrm{PF}}_5$: 5 bond pairs and 0 lone pairs, so its geometry is trigonal bipyramidal, not square pyramidal.


2. ${\mathrm{BrF}}_4^{-}$: 4 bond pairs and 2 lone pairs, so its geometry is square planar, not square pyramidal.


3. ${\mathrm{IF}}_5$: 5 bond pairs and 1 lone pair, so its geometry is square pyramidal.


4. ${\mathrm{BrF}}_5$: 5 bond pairs and 1 lone pair, so its geometry is square pyramidal.


5. ${\mathrm{XeOF}}_4$: 5 bond pairs and 1 lone pair, so its geometry is square pyramidal.


6. ${\mathrm{ICl}}_4^{-}$: 4 bond pairs and 2 lone pairs, so its geometry is square planar, not square pyramidal.

So the number of species from the given list that have a square pyramidal structure is 3.