What is the Lewis dot structure for XeH4?

Answer 1

The other answers are correct. There are four bonds and two lone pairs and it is an exception to the octet rule.

But, I've always wondered why with those lone pairs on offer, hydrogen ions (ie protons) can't just attach, make dative covalent bonds and form

XeH44+ ?

It must be similar to why acids form H3O+ but not H4O2+ which should be theoretically possible with two lone pairs.

I've got a degree in Chemistry, but nobody has ever explained these to me!

Any ideas?

Answer 2

This is a trick question; there can be no compound with such name.

Xe is a noble gas, and noble gases are useless because they cannot form with any other atom because their electron level is completely filled.

*The above answer is actually incorrect. Xenon tetrafluoride is commonly used to decompose silicone rubber. Since it is in the third period, xenon's extra electrons can go to the 3d orbital. Therefore, it will look something like this:

H

|..

H - Xe - H

" |

H

...where the four hydrogen's are bonded to the Xe and the Xe has two extra unbonded pairs of electrons. It is a perfectly viable molecular formation.