How do we know for certain that atoms can’t have more than 8 maximum outermost electrons when atoms form chemical bonds? Is there any research being done to see why atoms prefer the octet rule?

Question

How do we know for certain that atoms can’t have more than 8 maximum outermost electrons when atoms form chemical bonds? Is there any research being done to see why atoms prefer the octet rule?

In: 2

Answer 1

They did this research almost a hundred years ago. The s and p electronics are the most active chemically and there are 8 of those in each level. The electron configuration if the nearest noble gas is usually the most stable chemically.

This is especially true of the non-metallic elements in the top-right corner which are most often present in large organic molecules. C,N,O and the halogens. P and S are interesting exceptions! They can have 10 and 12 instead of just 8.