Resonance & Lewis Structures
- Some molecules can be represented by more than one Lewis structure
- Resonance structures are different variations of the same molecule, but with different arrangement of electrons
- The resonance hybrid is the actual structure of a molecule, and it is a mixture of all its resonance structures
- Resonance occurs because electrons are often delocalized
- Delocalized electrons are not fixed to a single atom or covalent bond, therefore they can be spread through the molecule
- The resonance hybrid is the most stable form of a molecule because the delocalization of electrons stabilize the structure
Resonance structures of the nitrate(V) ion
- To draw the resonance structure of the nitrate(V) ion, the first step is to count the valence electrons that are present in the ion
- There is one nitrogen atom, three oxygen atoms and a negative charge
- Nitrogen in group 15 contributes with 5 valence electrons
- Oxygen in group 16 contributes with 6 valence electrons
- The negative charge means that an electron has been gained
- After drawing an skeletal structure (N as the central atom) and placing the bonding and nonbonding electrons, three Lewis structures are possible
- These Lewis structures consist of a double bond and two single bonds. However, a pair of electrons from the double bond and lone pairs of electrons can oscillate between three different positions
- These oscillation allows the double bond to migrate from one part of the molecule to another
Resonance in the Nitrate(V) ion
Resonance structures in the nitrate ion
- One the resonance structures are identified, the resonance hybrid can be drawn using dotted lines to show the position of delocalised electrons
- The three resonance structures have more energy than the resonance hybrid of nitrate(V) ion
- Therefore, the resonance hybrid is is the most stable and the actual structure of the nitrate(V) ion
The Nitrate(V) Ion
Resonance hybrid nitrate(V) ion
- Some common examples of resonance are the carbonate ion, benzene, ozone, and the carboxylate ion which are showed in the table below
Species |
Lewis Diagram |
Resonance Hybrid |
Carbonate ion, CO32- |
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Benzene, C6H6 |
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Ozone, O3 |
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Carboxylate ion, RCOO- |