Is XeCl2 Polar or Nonpolar? (And Why?)

XeCl2 is a NONPOLAR molecule.

But why? 

And how can you say that XeCl2 is a nonpolar molecule?

Want to know the reason?
Let’s dive into it!

XeCl2 is a NONPOLAR molecule because both the bonds (Xe-Cl bonds) are identical and XeCl2 has symmetrical geometry which cancels out the bond polarity.

Let me explain this in detail with the help of XeCl2 lewis structure and its 3D geometry.

Why is XeCl2 a Nonpolar molecule? (Explained in 3 Steps)

XeCl2 is a nonpolar molecule because it does not have any pole of positive charge and negative charge on it.

Let me explain this to you in 3 steps!

Step #1: Draw the lewis structure

Here is a skeleton of XeCl2 lewis structure and it contains two Xe-Cl bonds.

(Note: If you want to know the steps of drawing the XeCl2 lewis dot structure, then visit this article: XeCl2 lewis structure, Or you can also watch this short 2 minute video).

So from the above diagram we have come to know that the XeCl2 molecule has two Xe-Cl bonds.

Now in the next step we have to check whether these two Xe-Cl bonds are polar or nonpolar.

Step #2: Check whether individual bonds are polar or nonpolar

The chemical bonds can be either nonpolar, polar or ionic depending on the difference of the electronegativity values (ΔEN) between the two atoms.

Have a look at the above image.

• If the electronegativity difference (ΔEN) is less than 0.4, then the bond is nonpolar covalent bond.
• If the electronegativity difference (ΔEN) is between 0.4 to 1.7, then the bond is polar covalent bond. 
• If the electronegativity difference (ΔEN) is greater than 1.7, then the bond is an ionic bond. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]}

Now let’s come to the example of XeCl2 molecule. It has two Xe-Cl bonds.

You can see the electronegativity values of Xenon (Xe) and Chlorine (Cl) atoms from the periodic table given below.

From the above image;

• Electronegativity of Xenon (Xe) = 2.6 ^[6]
• Electronegativity of Chlorine (Cl) = 3.16 ^[7]

Now let’s see the polarity of each bond.

For Xe-Cl bond;
The electronegativity difference (ΔEN) = 3.16 – 2.6 = 0.56
This value lies between 0.4 to 1.7, which indicates that the bond between Xenon (Xe) and Chlorine (Cl) is polar.
Hence, each Xe-Cl bond is a polar covalent bond.

You can see in the above image that because of electronegativity difference, the partial positive charge (ẟ+) appears on the Xenon atom (Xe) and partial negative charge (ẟ-) appears on the Chlorine atoms (Cl).

But wait, this alone won’t tell you whether the entire XeCl2 molecule is polar or nonpolar.

So let’s proceed to the next step to check the symmetry of the XeCl2 molecule.

Step #3: Check whether the molecule is symmetric or not

Have a look at this 3D structure of XeCl2. You can see that the structure of XeCl2 is symmetrical. 

The xenon atom is at the center and it is surrounded by 2 chlorine atoms which are equidistant as well as at equal angles.

Also the three lone pairs are arranged symmetrically.

As both the bonds (Xe-Cl) are symmetrical and the XeCl2 molecule has a symmetrical geometry, their bond polarity gets canceled with each other.

Because of this, there are no positive and negative poles of charges on the overall molecule of XeCl2.

Hence, the XeCl2 molecule is a nonpolar molecule.

I hope you have understood the reason behind the nonpolar nature of XeCl2 molecule.

See the polarity of other molecules to make your concepts clear:
Is AsF3 Polar or Nonpolar?
Is SCl4 Polar or Nonpolar?
Is NI3 Polar or Nonpolar?
Is IF3 Polar or Nonpolar?
Is ClF5 Polar or Nonpolar?