3.49
Posted: Wed May 16, 2018 6:19 pm
For part A, the question asks for the Lewis structure and formal charges of NO+.
The back of the book says the correct Lewis structure is N and O attached by a triple bond, where N has 1 lone pair of e- and O has 1 lone pair of e-. So the formal charges would be 0 for N and +1 for O.
I understand how they calculated the formal charges but why can't the structure be N and O attached by a double bond, where N has 1 lone pair and O has 2 lone pairs, so that the formal charges would be +1 for N and 0 for O?
The back of the book says the correct Lewis structure is N and O attached by a triple bond, where N has 1 lone pair of e- and O has 1 lone pair of e-. So the formal charges would be 0 for N and +1 for O.
I understand how they calculated the formal charges but why can't the structure be N and O attached by a double bond, where N has 1 lone pair and O has 2 lone pairs, so that the formal charges would be +1 for N and 0 for O?