According to the VSEPR theory (Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion), the lone pair on Chlorine and the electron clouds on the surrounding oxygen atoms repel each other. ClO 3 – Molecular Geometry and ShapeĬhlorine forms the central atom in the ClO 3 – ion with oxygen atoms surrounding it. ClO 3 – Bond Anglesĭue to the repulsion of electrons on the surrounding oxygen atoms and the lone pair on Chlorine, the atoms get pushed apart and form bond angels of 109.5°. Therefore, the hybridization of ClO 3 – is sp 3. The rest of the electrons from the sigma bonds are filled into the 3p orbital. Now, we insert the two pi bonds into the first two 3d orbital spaces. Therefore, the two lone pairs fill in the 3s orbital and the three sigma bonds present fill-up the 3p orbital. Its electronic configuration is given by 3s 2 3p 5. Since Chlorine is in the third row in the periodic table, it is capable of expanding its orbitals in an excited state. To calculate ClO 3 – hybridization state, we need to determine the number of lone pairs and the number of sigma bonds present in the ion. The central atom, Chlorine (Cl), forms covalent bonds of double and single nature with the surrounding atoms of Oxygen. Therefore, it becomes a conductor for more electron bonds than Oxygen hence taking up the center stage as shown in the figure. The Chlorine atom takes up a central position in the structure due to its ability to share a higher number of electrons. The total number of electron pairs in a chlorate ion is given by: The Lewis dot structures of an element represent a schematic arrangement of its constituent molecules, atoms and their electron bonds. Therefore, the total valence electrons in the chlorate ion is 7 + 18 +1 = 26 Lewis Structure of ClO 3 – The anionic charge of -1 and contributes one valence electron. Therefore, given 3 oxygen atoms contribute 6 x 3 =18 electrons. Oxygen’s electronic configuration is 1s 22s 22p 4. Therefore, the single Chlorine atom contributes 7 x 1 = 7 electrons.īeing in group 6 of the periodic table, Oxygen has six valence electrons and has a valency of -2. The possibility of electrons in its d shell makes it hypervalent.

Chlorine’s electronic configuration is given by 3s 23p 5. There also exists a negative ionic charge of -1 in the ion.īeing in group 7 of the periodic table, Chlorine has seven valence electrons with a valency of -1. Due to these repulsive forces between the valence shell electron pairs, the CO2 molecule acquires a linear shapeto keep the repulsion at the least.A Chlorate ion consists of one chlorine atom and three oxygen atoms. As a result, there are no lone pairs of electrons, but bonding pairs of electrons also repel each other. Here in CO2, both Oxygen atoms form sigma bonds with the central carbon atom and complete their octet. The molecular Geometry of any compound is based on the arrangement of atoms, electron pairs, and bonds. Remaining electrons in the p-orbitals in the Oxygen atom form pi bonds.Īs sp orbitals are hybridized to form the bonds, CO2 has an sp hybridization. These two hybridized orbitals overlap with the two p-orbitals of the Oxygen atom that results in the formation of sigma bonds. In contrast, the Oxygen atom hybridizes to form three sp2 hybrid orbitals. Here the 2s orbitals and one of the p-orbitals will hybridize to form 2 sp orbitals. In its excited state, the atom’s electronic configuration becomes 1s2 2s1 2p3, so now every p-orbital of the atoms has one electron each. Total number of valence electrons in the molecule = 16

Valence electrons in Oxygen: 6*2 = 12 ( as there are two Oxygen atoms in the molecule, we will multiply it by 2).

To know the bond formation and the arrangement, let’s go through the valence electrons of all the atoms in the molecule. Two Oxygen atoms are located on the terminals where both these atoms share electrons and form bonds with the central Carbon atom. In CO2, the Carbon atom is in the central position as it is the least electronegative atom in the molecule. Now that you know how the Lewis structure is drawn and its uses let us quickly look at the CO2 Lewis structure.

Such structure helps in understanding the arrangement of atoms along with the electrons participating in the bond formation. Drawing lines represent the bonds formed in the molecule. These valence electrons are represented by drawing dots around the individual atoms, hence the Lewis dot structure.

Lewis dot structure is a pictorial representation of the arrangement of the valence shell electrons in the molecule. To know the lewis structure of CO2, one should first understand what precisely the Lewis structure is. This structure helps in knowing the arrangement of electrons in the molecules and the shape of the molecule. One needs to know the Lewis structure in order to understand the molecular geometry of any given molecule.

Clo2 molecular geometry