Can there be a molecule where every atom is covalently bonded to every other atom? [closed]








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I was wondering if muliple atoms could bond in a ring, but share a pair of electrons with every other atom in the molecule so that every atom is connected to every other atom. Would it be possible for some amounts of atoms, but then become either geometrically impossible, or electron-wise impossible? e.g.[![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/9qh2S.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/9qh2S.png)


Also, can three atoms share three electrons with each-other, like this, or would the attraction be too weak for any atom? [![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/KzW89.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/KzW89.png)




As Nisarg Bhavsar stated in his answer, phosphorus can form tetrahedral tetramers. Given this, and given that elements in the same group (same column of the periodic table) have similar properties, it's worth asking if arsenic, antimony, and bismuth might form tetrahedral tetramers as well. And indeed they some of them do. Specifically, tetrahedral tetramers have been found for both arsenic and antimony. Whether they form with bismuth is still an open question.


**arsenic ("yellow arsenic"):**


<https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacs.7b01890>


<https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.chemrev.8b00713>


**antimony:**


<https://aip.scitation.org/doi/pdf/10.1063/1.463326>


**bismuth:**


<https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2018/cp/c8cp03529f>


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The proposition you propose is very much possible.


The most common example of such a phenomenon is the structure of white phosphorus. It contains four phosphorus atoms, each bound to the other three by single covalent bonds. It forms a regular tetrahedral structure with each $\ce{P-P}$ bond length being equal to $\pu{225 pm}$.


You can have a look at the structure below:


[![White Phosphorus](https://i.stack.imgur.com/R2k8q.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/R2k8q.png)




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**Image source:**


(1) White phosphorus <https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/molecule-of-the-week/archive/w/white-phosphorus.html> (accessed 2022 -04 -11).


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