Formal Charge in Ions
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Formal Charge in Ions
Can ions have a formal charge of zero? Or will they always have a nonzero charge because the ions themselves are charged?
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Re: Formal Charge in Ions
They cannot have a formal charge of zero because they are no longer neutral when gaining or losing electrons.
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Re: Formal Charge in Ions
Formal charge refers to singular atoms in the lewis dot structure of covalent bonds, not ions. The ions themselves have an overall charge, but not a formal charge. For example, the lewis dot structure of F- is F with seven dots around it, no bonds formed. On the other hand, the F atoms in SF6 do have formal charge. Hope this helps!
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Re: Formal Charge in Ions
Indeed as stated above, ions can have charge but technically the name "formal charge" applies to the individual atoms in that ion. However, apart from terminology, a good guideline to apply to the idea you are referring to is that in a molecule or ion, the sum of the formal charges of the individual atoms should always add up to the charge of the overall molecule or ion.
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