Question about Formal Charge

[Ziyi Meng 2K]

Why are atoms the most stable when it has a formal charge of 0?

[sgarza]

Formal charge predicts how favorable a certain arrangement of atoms in a molecule is. A formal charge of zero means it requires the least energy to arrange these atoms, resulting in a more stable structure.

[Noah Ho 1F]

Having a formal charge also indicates a level of electrostatic attraction between atoms. This indicates a level of attraction or repulsion, which reduces stability of a molecule.

[Elena Chan 2L]

Formal charge assumes that electrons in a molecule can have chemical bonds that are shared between atoms without regard to electronegativity. Adding onto the responses above, there are cases however where the formal charge must be positive or negative and not 0 but the most stable structures have negative formal charges on more electronegative atoms and more positive formal charges on less electronegative atoms due to electron repulsion or attraction of the individual atoms.