chart of molecular geometry vs electron geometry

In this MO we can see that the AO of sulfur, which is on the left-hand side combines with the AO of oxygen on the right-hand side. This further helps us to find out the bond order, bond length, and bond strength of any compound. The molecular orbital diagram of SO2 is attached below:Ī molecular orbital diagram gives us an idea about how the atomic orbitals of two different atoms can fuse and give rise to a new orbital. Now let’s learn the last topic of this article, the molecular orbital diagram of SO2.

In absence of a lone pair, both the geometries are the same for any compound.īelow is the 3D view of the geometry of the SO2 molecule. Whereas molecular geometry considers only the atoms. So, electron geometry is different from molecular geometry because it considers all the electron pairs (including lone pairs) while determining the shape. You must be wondering about this new term, right? Let me explain. SO2 is an AX2E type molecule, with 2 surrounding atoms i.e oxygen, and 1 lone pair of sulfur.īut the electron geometry of SO2 is trigonal planar. Here, A = central atom, X = surrounding atoms and E = the lone pairs. We can easily find out the molecular geometry of any compound using the given chart. The molecular geometry of SO2 is bent, with a bond angle of 120°. I hope the hybridization of SO2 is clear from both the explained concepts. Here cationic and anionic charges will be 0 as it’s a neutral compound.

M is the number of monovalent atom presentīy the same token H = 5, its Sp4 hybridizationĪnd lastly, when, H is 6, it will be Sp3d2 hybridization.įor SO2, the number of valence electrons of the S atom = 6 and the number of monovalent atoms = 0, because oxygen is a divalent atom.

The formula for finding hybridization of any compound is H = ½ There’s an image attached below for better understanding. Well, those two (i.e one of the 3p orbital and another electron in 3d) formed the 𝞹 bonds between sulfur and oxygen. Wondering about the other 2 electrons of 3p which were not involved in hybridization? And the remaining 2 paired orbitals form the lone pair of sulfur. Now, the 3s2 and 3p3 combine to form Sp2 hybridization with 3 equivalent orbitals, containing 2 paired electrons and 2 unpaired.įor forming 2 sigma bonds with oxygen atoms, sulfur needs the 2 unpaired electrons from the Sp2 hybridized orbitals. When in an excited state, one electron from 3px, moves to 3d orbital. Likewise, in case of SO2, the ground state electronic configuration is 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p4. I would suggest learning the theory first and then you can surely go for the formal.Ī quick tip for you, when 1 s orbital unites with 2 p orbitals it results in Sp2 hybridization having 3 equivalent orbitals. Now hybridization of SO2 can be understood in two ways, one is the theory and the 2nd is directly applying the formula. The next topic we need to know is the hybridization of SO2. Oxygen has 2 lone pairs and sulfur has 1 lone pair.Īt last, don’t forget to check the formal charge of all the atoms! This will finally complete the octet of the atoms. We need to place these remaining electrons around the atoms as per the requirement. Subtracting that from the total valence electrons we get 10 electrons remaining. Thus the number of electrons used in double bonds = 8

There are 2 oxygen atoms in the compound, thus = 6*2 = 12Īfter drawing the skeletal structure, we can see that none of the atoms can fulfill their octet with single bonds. In SO2, the sulfur’s valence electron = 6 Now let’s see the lewis structure of SO2.

Formal charge calculation can be done using:. Step 6 – At last, it’s important to check if all the atoms are having their lowest possible formal charge. Step 5 – Giving double or triple bonds is necessary if it is needed for fulfilling the octet rule for all atoms. Always begin with the electronegative atoms then move to the electropositive ones. Step 4 – Next, our work is completing the octet of the atoms with the remaining electrons, after the formation of the single bonds. Step 3 – The third step is creating a skeleton structure with single bonds only. The atom with the highest number of bonding sites is the central atom. Steps 2 – Next thing is figuring out the central atom. A ‘+’ sign means losing electrons and ‘-‘ means gaining. While doing so, do take care of the +, – signs. Step 1 – Figuring out the total number of valence electrons in the molecule is the first and most important step. Now let’s walk through the method of drawing lewis structure: This structure helps us to know about the kind of bonds and the number of bonds that form the compound. Lewis structure is the distribution of the electrons around the atoms of a compound. Before directly jumping into the lewis structure of SO2, let’s have a quick discussion regarding the importance of lewis structure and the steps to draw it.

Chart of molecular geometry vs electron geometry