Is PbC12 ionic or covalent

Answer 1

The solid is mainly ionic, the difference in electronegativity is only 0.83 so it is surprising that it shows any ionic character- it has higher mp than SnCl2 (strangely Sn is less electronegative than Pb) and the crystal structure has each lead atom surroundd by 9 chlorine atoms a very unusual coordination in ionic compounds.

If you have come across inert pair effect this is one of the factors you shoul dtake into account.

In the vapour it is molecular with a bond angle of 98 0 and a bond length of 244 pm