Elements lacking accessible valence d-orbitals follow the strict octet rule
The claim that elements lacking accessible valence d-orbitals strictly follow the octet rule is refuted by modern chemical bonding theory and empirical evidence showing stable hypervalent compounds formed by main-group elements.
The retrieved papers provide strong evidence that hypervalency—violations of the octet rule—occurs regularly in p-block and other main-group elements that lack low-lying or energetically accessible valence d-orbitals. Historical models often attributed expanded octets to d-orbital participation, but modern quantum-chemical analyses (such as multi-center bonding models) demonstrate that d-orbitals are not required for hypervalency. Thus, the claim that such elements strictly follow the octet rule is false.
Durrant MC. A quantitative definition of hypervalency.. 2015. https://doi.org/10.1039/c5sc02076j
Magnum et al. (2015) demonstrate that numerous molecules lacking accessible d-orbitals (such as ozone) are hypervalent and violate the strict octet rule.
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Lee TH, Elliott SR. Hypervalency in amorphous chalcogenides.. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-29054-5
Research on amorphous chalcogenides (2022) establishes that hypervalency and multi-center bonding routinely occur in systems without accessible d-orbitals.
Muramatsu S, Matsuyama A, Iwanaga D, Inokuchi Y. Spectroscopic Implications for [N-X-N]<sup>+</sup> (X = I, Br)-Type Halonium Compounds with Formal Hypervalency.. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.inorgchem.5c01820
Spectroscopic studies of halonium compounds (2025) confirm the existence of formal hypervalency (such as 10-electron centers) in p-block elements lacking low-lying d-valency.
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