Higher melting point, PH3 or NH3?

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers around determining which compound has the highest melting point among three pairs: H2O vs. H2S, KBr vs. CF4, and NH3 vs. PH3. It is established that H2O has a higher melting point than H2S due to stronger hydrogen bonding. For KBr and CF4, the ionic bond in KBr is highlighted as a key factor for its higher melting point compared to the molecular interactions in CF4. The third pair, NH3 and PH3, presents a challenge as both have similar electronic configurations. The discussion suggests examining the dominant intermolecular forces, noting that ammonia's hydrogen bonding is stronger than the weaker van der Waals forces in phosphine, indicating that NH3 likely has the higher melting point. Clarification is also provided that H2S is not sulfuric acid, emphasizing the importance of electronegativity in these comparisons.
ANDR3W
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Hi everyone, I have a question for all of you

In an exercise of chemistry it's written to find the compound, between every couple, which has the highest melting point.

The three couples are: H20 H2S; KBr CF4, NH3 PH3.

In the first case water has higher melting point because the bond is stronger than the sulfuric acid one.
In the second case, looking at the electronic configuration, we can spot that Br has 4p5 and so makes an ionic bond with K that is giving away its electron to complete valence shell.

In the third case i really don't know what to think.
They have same electronic configuration so i don't know how to spot the higher one..
Can anybody help me? :)
Thank you.
 
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ANDR3W said:
Hi everyone, I have a question for all of you

In an exercise of chemistry it's written to find the compound, between every couple, which has the highest melting point.

The three couples are: H20 H2S; KBr CF4, NH3 PH3.

In the first case water has higher melting point because the bond is stronger than the sulfuric acid one.
In the second case, looking at the electronic configuration, we can spot that Br has 4p5 and so makes an ionic bond with K that is giving away its electron to complete valence shell.

In the third case i really don't know what to think.
They have same electronic configuration so i don't know how to spot the higher one..
Can anybody help me? :)
Thank you.

Well, what are the dominant intermolecular forces between ammonia molecules? Do you expect those to be stronger or weaker than the forces between phospine molecules? Is there any similarity between this pair and the other pairs you considered?
 
H2S is not sulfuric acid. H2S is hydrogen sulfide.
 
Look at the Electronegativity
 
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