How many single bonds can iodine form?

1 Answer
Ernest Z.
Jun 25, 2016

Iodine can form 1, 3, 5, or 7 covalent bonds.

Explanation:

Iodine has seven valence electrons, so it typically forms only one covalent bond.

An example is "H-I".

However, highly electronegative elements like fluorine, chlorine, and oxygen can cause iodine to form 3, 5, or 7 covalent bonds.

Examples are "IF"_3, "IF"_5, and "IF"_7.

Iodine fluorides
(from cnx.org)

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