Lewis Structure

Lewis Structure

Lewis structures (also known as Lewis dot diagrams, electron dot diagrams, and electron dot structures) are diagrams that show the bonding between atoms of a molecule and the lone pairs of electrons that may exist in the molecule. A Lewis structure can be drawn for any covalently bonded molecule, as well as coordination compounds. The Lewis structure was named after Gilbert Newton Lewis, who introduced it in his 1916 article The Atom and the Molecule. They are similar to electron dot diagrams in that the valence electrons in lone pairs are represented as dots, but they also contain lines to represent shared pairs in a chemical bond (single, double, triple, etc.).

Lewis structures show each atom and its position in the structure of the molecule using its chemical symbol. Lines are drawn between atoms that are bonded to one another (pairs of dots can be used instead of lines). Excess electrons that form lone pairs are represented as pairs of dots, and are placed next to the atoms.

Although many of the elements react by gaining, losing or sharing electrons until they have achieved a valence shell electron configuration with a full octet of (8) electrons, there are many noteworthy exceptions to the 'octet rule'. Hydrogen (H) conforms instead to a duet rule wherein it fills its first (and outermost) shell with just two electrons or empties it completely. Some compounds, such as boron trifluoride, have incomplete orbitals, while others, such as sulfur hexafluoride, have a valence shell with more than eight electrons.