system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Phosphorus can make 6 covalent bonds?

I was reading my text book and I found the molecule PF6^- . Which is supposed to have an octahedral shape.

I can't understand how phosphorus, which has only 5 valence electrons, can bond with 6 atoms of fluorine.
gpt
Fluorine is extremely electronegative and will bond like crazy to anything it can, and phosphorus can also 'expand it's octet' meaning electrons can move up from the 3p orbital to the 3d orbital which can accommodate more bonds. These two factors help make the six bondson phosphorus more stable. For comparison fluorine also bonds with   xenon to make xenon tetrafluoride, and xenon has no valence electrons.