TOPIC 5: Basic Concepts of Chemical Bonding

L5.1: Recarp on Chemical bonds

- Polarity of Bonds

L5.2: Lewis Structures

- Octet Rule and Exceptions
-Resonance and multiple bonds

1
Covalent Bonding and Lewis Dot Structure

• Covalent bonds result from the sharing of electrons between two atoms.
• Covalent bonds are formed when two nonmetals combine, or when a metalloid
combine with a nonmetal.

• In covalent compounds, the Lewis Dot Structures must show how the electrons are being
SHARED to complete the octets of each atom in the molecule.
• Atoms share valence electrons to attain the electronic configuration of the noble gas
closest to them in the periodic table.

• Main group elements share e− until they reach an octet of e− in their outer shell.
2
Covalent Bonding-some principles

• How many covalent bonds will a particular atom form?

• Hydrogen forms one bond, with its one valence e−.

• Atoms with one, two, or three valence e− form one, two, or three bonds, respectively.

• These, (except for H) will be electron-deficient, ie they will have less than an octet of
electrons- To be Revisited

3
 Chemical Bonding: Ionic Compounds and Lewis Structures

• In ionic compounds one atom lose

(donated) its valence electron (s)
completely to another.

• This process leads to formation of a

cation and an anion which bind by
electrostatic attraction to form an
ionic compound.

• For Ionic compounds, the Lewis

dot structure must show how the
electrons are being transferred to
Na: 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s1
form the ions in the compound.
Cl: 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s23p5
Chemical Bonding : Ionic Compounds and Lewis Structures
Polar and Non-Polar Molecules

• Heteronuclear diatomic molecules are polar due to the difference in

electronegativity between the bonding atoms.

• Heteronuclear triatomic and

polyatomic molecules can be
polar and some are nonpolar:
Structure is important…! To be
revisited: Molecular geometry
TOPIC 5: Basic Concepts of Chemical Bonding

L5.1: Recarp on Chemical bonds

- Polarity of Bonds

L5.2: Lewis Structures

- Octet Rule and Exceptions
-Resonance and multiple bonds

10
Lewis Dot Structures
• A molecular formula shows the number and identity of all the atoms in a compound,
but not how atoms are bonded to each other.

• A Lewis dot structure shows the connectivity between atoms, as well as the
location of all bonding and nonbonding valence electrons.

HOW TO Draw the “best” Lewis Structure –Six (6) Steps

5
 HOW TO Draw the “best” Lewis Structure –Using NO3- to illustrate

Step [1] Determine the total number of valence electrons in the molecule

Step [2] (i) Draw a skeleton for the molecule which connects all atoms using only
single bonds.
(ii) The least electronegative atom is placed at the centre.
(iii) The central atom should be the atom with the most available sites for
bonding

12
 HOW TO Draw the “best” Lewis Structure –Using NO3- to illustrate

• Of the 24 valence electrons in NO3-, 6 are required for the single bonds.
Step [3]
• The remaining 18 electrons are placed on the terminal O atoms to fulfil their
octets

Step [4] • Check to see if there are any remaining electrons. If so, place them on the
central metal. In this case there are none, all 24 are used up!

13
 HOW TO Draw the “best” Lewis Structure –Using NO3- to illustrate

Step [5] • Are the octets of all the atoms filled?

• If not, then fill the remaining octets by making multiple bonds
• Move a lone pair of electrons into a bonding pair of electrons that is shared with
the atom that is electron deficient.

14
 HOW TO Draw the “best” Lewis Structure –Using NO3- to illustrate

Step [6]

• Formal Charge of 1st Oxygen

= 6 - 6 - ½(2) = -1

• Formal Charge of 2nd Oxygen

= 6 - 6 - ½(2) = -1

• Formal Charge of 3rd Oxygen (the one with double bonds)

= 6 - 4 - ½(4) = 0

• Formal Charge of Nitrogen

= 5 - 0 - ½(8) = 1

Total FC of the whole molecule = (-1) + (-1) + 0 + (+1) = -1

15
 IMPORTANT

• No Lewis diagram is complete without formal charges

• It is best to have a formal charge of 0 for as many of the atoms in a structure as

possible. This becomes the most stable Lewis dot structure

• Also, the most stable Lewis dot structure of any polyatomic species is the one
in which the negative charge is on the most electronegative atoms

• Lewis dot structures are used to examine mechanisms of reactions, so knowing

which part/s of a molecule are electron deficient (+) and which are electron rich (-) is
very useful.

16
HoWo:
Draw Lewis structures for the following molecules:

(i) Nitric acid, HNO3 (iii) Thionyl chloride, SOCl2

(ii) Sulfur trioxide, SO3 (iv) Sulfuryl chloride, SO2Cl2

Nitric acid

Sulfur trioxide Sulfuryl chloride

H attached to
the atom which
is electron rich.
Refer to F.C. 17
TOPIC 5: Basic Concepts of Chemical Bonding

L5.1: Recarp on Chemical bonds

- Polarity of Bonds

L5.2: Lewis Structures

- Octet Rule and Exceptions
-Resonance and multiple bonds

18
Exceptions to the Octet Rule
• Most of the common elements generally obey the octet rule.

• H is a notable exception, because it needs only 2 e− in bonding.

• Elements in group 3A (13) do not have enough valence e− to form an octet in a
neutral molecule : B: [1s2 ] 2s2 2p1

Example; boron in BF3 is electron-deficient

19
 HOW TO Draw the “best” Lewis Structure –Using NO3- to illustrate

Step [5] • Are the octets of all the atoms filled?

• If not, then fill the remaining octets by making multiple bonds
• Move a lone pair of electrons into a bonding pair of electrons that is shared with
the atom that is electron deficient.

20
Exceptions to the Octet Rule
• Most of the common elements generally obey the octet rule.

• H is a notable exception, because it needs only 2 e− in bonding.

• Elements in group 3A (13) do not have enough valence e− to form an octet in a
neutral molecule : B: [1s2 ] 2s2 2p1

Example; boron in BF3 is electron-deficient

21
 IMPORTANT

• No Lewis diagram is complete without formal charges

• It is best to have a formal charge of 0 for as many of the atoms in a structure as

possible. This becomes the most stable Lewis dot structure

• Also, the most stable Lewis dot structure of any polyatomic species is the one
in which the negative charge is on the most electronegative atoms

• Lewis diagrams are used to examine mechanisms of reactions, so knowing which

part/s of a molecule are electron deficient (+) and which are electron rich (-) is very
useful.

22
Exceptions to the Octet Rule
• Most of the common elements generally obey the octet rule.

• H is a notable exception, because it needs only 2 e− in bonding.

• Elements in group 3A (13) do not have enough valence e− to form an octet in a
neutral molecule : B: [1s2 ] 2s2 2p1

Example; boron in BF3 is electron-deficient

23
Exceptions to the Octet Rule
• Most of the common elements generally obey the octet rule.

• H is a notable exception, because it needs only 2 e− in bonding.

• Elements in group 3A (13) do not have enough valence e− to form an octet in a

neutral molecule.

Example; boron in BF3 is electron-deficient

• Expanded octet: elements in the third row have empty d orbitals available to
accommodate more electron pairs.

• Thus, elements such as P and S may have more than 8 e− around them.

24
 GROUP
1 18
1 Alkali Metals Non-metals 78 Atomic Number 2

H He
PERIOD

1
Pt
Alkaline Earth Metals Halogens
Symbol
Hydrogen
1.008 2 Transition Metals Noble Gases 13 14 15 16 17 Helium
4.003
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Platinum Name

Li Be B C N O F Ne
Other Metals Lanthanides
195.1 Average Atomic Mass
2 Metalloids Actinides
Lithium Beryllium Boron Carbon Nitrogen Oxygen Fluorine Neon
6.94 9.012 10.81 12.01 14.01 16.00 19.00 20.18
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

3 Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar
Sodium
22.99
Magnesium
24.31 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Aluminium
26.98
Silicon
28.09
Phosphorus
30.97
Sulfur
32.06
Chlorine
35.45
Argon
39.95
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36

4 K
Potassium
Ca
Calcium
Sc
Scandium
Ti
Titanium
V
Vanadium
Cr Mn Fe
Chromium Manganese Iron
CoCobalt
Ni
Nickel
Cu Zn Ga Ge As
Copper Zinc Gallium Germanium Arsenic
Se
Selenium
Br
Bromine
Kr
Krypton
39.10 40.08 44.96 47.88 50.94 52.00 54.94 55.85 58.93 58.69 63.55 65.39 69.72 72.64 74.92 78.96 79.90 83.79
37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54

5 Rb
Rubidium
Sr
Strontium
Y
Yttrium
Zr
Zirconium
Nb Mo Tc
Niobium Molybdenum Technetium
Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd
Ruthenium Rhodium Palladium Silver Cadmium
In
Indium
Sn Tin
Sb
Antimony
Te
Tellurium
I
Iodine
Xe
Xenon
85.47 87.62 88.91 91.22 92.91 95.96 (98) 101.1 102.9 106.4 107.9 112.4 114.8 118.7 121.8 127.6 126.9 131.3
55 56 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86

6 Cs Ba
Caesium Barium
57-71
Lanthanides
Hf
Hafnium
Ta
Tantalum
W
Tungsten
Re Os
Rhenium Osmium
Ir
Iridium
Pt
Platinum
Au Hg
Gold Mercury
Tl
Thallium
PbLead
Bi
Bismuth
Po
Polonium
At Rn
Astatine Radon
132.9 137.3 178.5 180.9 183.9 186.2 190.2 192.2 195.1 197.0 200.5 204.38 207.2 209.0 (209) (210) (222)
87 88 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118

7 Fr
Francium
Ra
Radium
89-103
Actinides
Rf
Rutherfordium
Db Sg Bh Hs Mt Ds Rg Cn Nh
Dubnium Seaborgium Bohrium Hassium Meitnerium Darmstadtium Roentgenium Copernicium Nihonium
Fl
Flerovium
Mc
Moscovium
Lv
Livermorium
Ts Og
Tennessine Oganesson
(223) (226) (265) (268) (271) (270) (277) (276) (281) (280) (285) (284) (289) (288) (293) (294) (294)

57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71

La
Lanthanum
Ce
Cerium
Pr
Praseodymium
Nd Pm Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho
Neodymium Promethium Samarium Europium Gadolinium Terbium Dysprosium Holmium
Er Tm Yb
Erbium Thulium Ytterbium
Lu
Lutetium
138.9 140.1 140.9 144.2 (145) 150.4 152.0 157.2 158.9 162.5 164.9 167.3 168.9 173.0 175.0
89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103

Ac Th
Actinium Thorium
Pa
Protactinium
U
Uranium
Np Pu Am Cm Bk
Neptunium Plutonium Americium Curium Berkelium
Cf
Californium
Es Fm Md No
Einsteinium Fermium Mendelevium Nobelium
Lr
Lawrencium
(227) 232.0 231.0 238.0 (237) (244) (243) (247) (247) (251) (252) (257) (258) (259) (262)

American Chemical Society www.acs.org/outreach

Sulfur E.C.

S: [1s2 2s2 2p6 ]3s2 3p4 (3d0)

S: [Ne] 3s2 3p4 (3d0)
Lewis Dot Structures and Expanded Octet
Notice that in sulfur trioxide and sulfuryl chloride, the central S atom has more than 4 electron
pairs., ie it has more than an octet of electrons!

Sulfur trioxide Sulfuryl chloride

27
Exceptions to the Octet Rule
• Most of the common elements generally obey the octet rule.

• H is a notable exception, because it needs only 2 e− in bonding.

• Elements in group 3A (13) do not have enough valence e− to form an octet in a

neutral molecule.

Example; boron in BF3 is electron-deficient

• Expanded octet: elements in the third row have empty d orbitals available to
accommodate more electron pairs.

• Not true for all…..Only true IF that the Lewis dot structure is stable….
IMPORTANT! Let us consider AlCl3
28
 GROUP
1 18
1 Alkali Metals Non-metals 78 Atomic Number 2

H He
PERIOD

1
Pt
Alkaline Earth Metals Halogens
Symbol
Hydrogen
1.008 2 Transition Metals Noble Gases 13 14 15 16 17 Helium
4.003
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Platinum Name

Li Be B C N O F Ne
Other Metals Lanthanides
195.1 Average Atomic Mass
2 Metalloids Actinides
Lithium Beryllium Boron Carbon Nitrogen Oxygen Fluorine Neon
6.94 9.012 10.81 12.01 14.01 16.00 19.00 20.18
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

3 Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar
Sodium
22.99
Magnesium
24.31 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Aluminium
26.98
Silicon
28.09
Phosphorus
30.97
Sulfur
32.06
Chlorine
35.45
Argon
39.95
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36

4 K
Potassium
Ca
Calcium
Sc
Scandium
Ti
Titanium
V
Vanadium
Cr Mn Fe
Chromium Manganese Iron
CoCobalt
Ni
Nickel
Cu Zn Ga Ge As
Copper Zinc Gallium Germanium Arsenic
Se
Selenium
Br
Bromine
Kr
Krypton
39.10 40.08 44.96 47.88 50.94 52.00 54.94 55.85 58.93 58.69 63.55 65.39 69.72 72.64 74.92 78.96 79.90 83.79
37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54

5 Rb
Rubidium
Sr
Strontium
Y
Yttrium
Zr
Zirconium
Nb Mo Tc
Niobium Molybdenum Technetium
Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd
Ruthenium Rhodium Palladium Silver Cadmium
In
Indium
Sn Tin
Sb
Antimony
Te
Tellurium
I
Iodine
Xe
Xenon
85.47 87.62 88.91 91.22 92.91 95.96 (98) 101.1 102.9 106.4 107.9 112.4 114.8 118.7 121.8 127.6 126.9 131.3
55 56 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86

6 Cs Ba
Caesium Barium
57-71
Lanthanides
Hf
Hafnium
Ta
Tantalum
W
Tungsten
Re Os
Rhenium Osmium
Ir
Iridium
Pt
Platinum
Au Hg
Gold Mercury
Tl
Thallium
PbLead
Bi
Bismuth
Po
Polonium
At Rn
Astatine Radon
132.9 137.3 178.5 180.9 183.9 186.2 190.2 192.2 195.1 197.0 200.5 204.38 207.2 209.0 (209) (210) (222)
87 88 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118

7 Fr
Francium
Ra
Radium
89-103
Actinides
Rf
Rutherfordium
Db Sg Bh Hs Mt Ds Rg Cn Nh
Dubnium Seaborgium Bohrium Hassium Meitnerium Darmstadtium Roentgenium Copernicium Nihonium
Fl
Flerovium
Mc
Moscovium
Lv
Livermorium
Ts Og
Tennessine Oganesson
(223) (226) (265) (268) (271) (270) (277) (276) (281) (280) (285) (284) (289) (288) (293) (294) (294)

57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71

La
Lanthanum
Ce
Cerium
Pr
Praseodymium
Nd Pm Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho
Neodymium Promethium Samarium Europium Gadolinium Terbium Dysprosium Holmium
Er Tm Yb
Erbium Thulium Ytterbium
Lu
Lutetium
138.9 140.1 140.9 144.2 (145) 150.4 152.0 157.2 158.9 162.5 164.9 167.3 168.9 173.0 175.0
89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103

Ac Th
Actinium Thorium
Pa
Protactinium
U
Uranium
Np Pu Am Cm Bk
Neptunium Plutonium Americium Curium Berkelium
Cf
Californium
Es Fm Md No
Einsteinium Fermium Mendelevium Nobelium
Lr
Lawrencium
(227) 232.0 231.0 238.0 (237) (244) (243) (247) (247) (251) (252) (257) (258) (259) (262)

American Chemical Society www.acs.org/outreach

Aluminium E.C.

Al: [1s2 2s2 2p6 ]3s2 3p1 (3d0)

Al: [Ne] 3s2 3p1 (3d0)
Let us consider AlCl3
 IMPORTANT

• No Lewis diagram is complete without formal charges

• It is best to have a formal charge of 0 for as many of the atoms in a structure as

possible. This becomes the most stable Lewis dot structure

• Also, the most stable Lewis dot structure of any polyatomic species is the one
in which the negative charge is on the most electronegative atoms

• Lewis diagrams are used to examine mechanisms of reactions, so knowing which

part/s of a molecule are electron deficient (+) and which are electron rich (-) is very
useful.

32
TOPIC 5: Basic Concepts of Chemical Bonding

L5.1: Recarp on Chemical bonds

- Polarity of Bonds

L5.2: Lewis Structures

- Octet Rule and Exceptions
-Resonance and multiple bonds

34
 Lewis Dot Structures: Resonance
Resonance structures are two Lewis dot structures having the same arrangement of atoms but a
different arrangement of electrons.

Consider Thionyl chloride Lewis dot structure

B
A

Thionyl chloride
Because S is able to expand its octet, one of the lone pairs on the oxygen atom moves to form
a bond with S resulting in double S=O bond and a total of 5 electron pairs around the central S

The two molecular forms (A and B) of thionyl chloride are referred to as resonance
forms/structures of thionyl chloride 35
 Lewis Dot Structures: Resonance Structures
• The true structure is a hybrid of the resonance structures. Neither Lewis dot structure by
itself is the true structure of the molecule.

Thionyl chloride
• Resonance stabilizes a molecule by spreading out lone pairs in multiple bonds over a larger
region of space.

• A molecule or ion that has two or more resonance structures is said to be resonance-
stabilized.
36
Lewis Dot Structures: Expanded Octet and Resonance
Stability of the resonance structures;
Which of the two resonance structures is more stable than the other?

Thionyl chloride
A B
To answer that, we have to calculate the formal charges on each of the atoms in each one
of the molecules A and B
37
Lewis Dot Structures: Expanded Octet and Resonance

Thionyl chloride
A B
Formal charges:

S: 6 - 2 - (½ x 6) = +1 S: 6 - 2 - (½ x 8) = 0
O: 6 - 6 - ( ½ x 2) = -1 O: 6 – 4 - ( ½ x 4) = 0
Cl: 7- 6 - ( ½ x 2) = 0 Cl: 7- 6 - ( ½ x 2) = 0
38
 Recarp: IMPORTANT

• No Lewis diagram is complete without formal charges

• It is best to have a formal charge of 0 for as many of the atoms in a structure as possible.
This is the most stable Lewis structure

• The most stable Lewis structure of any polyatomic species is the one in which the negative
charge is on the most electronegative atoms

• Lewis diagrams are used to examine mechanisms of reactions so knowing which parts of a
molecule are electron deficient (+) and which are electron rich (-) is very useful.

39
Lewis Dot Structures: Expanded Octet and Resonance

Thionyl chloride
A B
Formal charges:

S: 6 - 2 - (½ x 6) = +1 S: 6 - 2 - (½ x 8) = 0
O: 6 - 6 - ( ½ x 2) = -1 O: 6 – 4 - ( ½ x 4) = 0
Cl: 7- 6 - ( ½ x 2) = 0 Cl: 7- 6 - ( ½ x 2) = 0

The formal charges of structure B are all zeros, so it is the most stable resonance structure.
40
Resonance Structures of NO3-
Lewis Dot Structures: Multiple Bonds
Sometimes there is need for formation of a multiple bond in order for all the atoms to
have an octet.

Consider formation of oxygen molecule;

à
Each atom donates and Both atoms do not have
electron for sharing an octet

Two more electrons for

sharing Now both atoms have an
octet 42

HoWo: Consider formation of nitrogen molecule

 HoWo
1. Draw the Lewis dot structure of
(i) C2H4 (ii) IF2- (iii) SO42- (iv) N2

2. Where you have resonance structures, show which one

of the resonance structures will be the most stable.

3. For each molecule in question 1, determine if the

molecule is going to be polar or nonpolar.

11/7/23 43