Trigonal bipyramid molecular geometry
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In chemistry a trigonal bipyramid is a molecular geometry with one atom at the center and 5 more at the corners of a triangular dipyramid. Phosphorus pentachloride is a molecule with a trigonal bipyramidal geometry. Phosphorus shares a plane with three chloride atoms at 120 degrees angles of each other (equatorial positions) and two more above and below at 90 degrees of the plane (apical positions). The triiodide ion is also a trigonal bipyramid but with the equatorial positions empty. In phosphorus compounds with mixed substituents apicophilicity is observed.
Isomers with this geometry are able to interconvert through a process called Berry pseudorotation.
