Question

Which of the following compounds would be most ionic in character?

• A. $PbC{l}_4$
• B. $PbC{l}_2$
• C. $SnC{l}_4$
• D. $SnC{l}_2$

Answer 1

Answer: (B)

The lower valencies are more ionic, because the radius of $M^{2+}$ is greater than that of $M^{4+}$ and according to Fajan's rules, the smaller the ions, the greater is the tendency to covalency. $PbC{l}_2$ is more ionic than $SnC{l}_2$ , because Pb has lower electronegativity than that of Sn.