Sapling Week 5-6 HW Question 6

[Vivian Leung 1C]

Can someone please explain how Carbon Dioxide is considered a lewis acid? I tried drawing a lewis structure for carbon dioxide and it doesn't look like carbon dioxide is missing a lone pair of electrons to need to accept electrons.

[Sam Wentzel 1F 14B]

I believe it loses one of the Oxygen's double bonds, in order to accept the lone pair of another atom / molecule, without violating the octet rule. I may be wrong though.

Hope this helps!

[ColmConnolly3D]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure CO2 would have a resonant structure with one C=O bond and one C-O bond.
Just for a bit more clarity.

[Isaias Gomez D3A]

Carbon dioxide acts as a Lewis acid because the positive carbon atom center Is able to attract and accept the lone pair of electrons pairs in the oxide ion.

[Vivian Leung 1C]

I see. Thank you everyone!

[Isabella Chou 1A]

I am having some trouble with this question as well. In the explanation for why CO2 is a Lewis acid, Sapling says that molecules with polar double bonds accept electrons, but why are the double bonds in CO2 polar?

[Wasila Sun 2I]

I am having some trouble with this question as well. In the explanation for why CO2 is a Lewis acid, Sapling says that molecules with polar double bonds accept electrons, but why are the double bonds in CO2 polar?

Oxygen has a far greater electronegativity compared to Carbon, so the covalent bond is polar. The electrons are pulled towards the Oxygen and away from the Carbon.

[Isabella Chou 1A]

I am having some trouble with this question as well. In the explanation for why CO2 is a Lewis acid, Sapling says that molecules with polar double bonds accept electrons, but why are the double bonds in CO2 polar?

Oxygen has a far greater electronegativity compared to Carbon, so the covalent bond is polar. The electrons are pulled towards the Oxygen and away from the Carbon.

This makes sense, thank you!