CH2S Lewis structure

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CH₂S (thioformaldehyde) has one carbon atom, two hydrogen atoms, and one sulfur atom.

In CH₂S Lewis structure, there is one double bond and two single bonds around the carbon atom, with one sulfur atom and two hydrogen atoms attached to it. And on the sulfur atom, there are two lone pairs.

Contents

Steps

Use these steps to correctly draw the CH₂S Lewis structure:

#1 First draw a rough sketch
#2 Mark lone pairs on the atoms
#3 Calculate and mark formal charges on the atoms, if required
#4 Convert lone pairs of the atoms, and minimize formal charges
#5 Repeat step 4 if needed, until all charges are minimized, to get a stable Lewis structure

Let’s discuss each step in more detail.

#1 First draw a rough sketch

First, determine the total number of valence electrons

In the periodic table, carbon lies in group 14, hydrogen lies in group 1, and sulfur lies in group 16.

Hence, carbon has four valence electrons, hydrogen has one valence electron, and sulfur has six valence electrons.

Since CH₂S has one carbon atom, two hydrogen atoms, and one sulfur atom, so…

Valence electrons of one carbon atom = 4 × 1 = 4
Valence electrons of two hydrogen atoms = 1 × 2 = 2
Valence electrons of one sulfur atom = 6 × 1 = 6

And the total valence electrons = 4 + 2 + 6 = 12

Learn how to find: Carbon valence electrons, Hydrogen valence electrons, and Sulfur valence electrons

Second, find the total electron pairs

We have a total of 12 valence electrons. And when we divide this value by two, we get the value of total electron pairs.

Total electron pairs = total valence electrons ÷ 2

So the total electron pairs = 12 ÷ 2 = 6

Third, determine the central atom

Here hydrogen can not be the central atom. Because the central atom is bonded with at least two other atoms, and hydrogen has only one electron in its last shell, so it can not make more than one bond.

Now we have to choose the central atom from carbon and sulfur. Place the least electronegative atom at the center.

Since carbon is less electronegative than sulfur, assume that the central atom is carbon.

Therefore, place carbon in the center and hydrogen and sulfur on either side.

And finally, draw the rough sketch

CH2S Lewis Structure (Step 1) — Rough sketch of CH₂S Lewis structure

#2 Mark lone pairs on the atoms

Here, we have a total of 6 electron pairs. And three bonds are already marked. So we have to only mark the remaining three electron pairs as lone pairs on the sketch.

Also remember that carbon is a period 2 element, so it can not keep more than 8 electrons in its last shell. Hydrogen is a period 1 element, so it can not keep more than 2 electrons in its last shell. And sulfur is a period 3 element, so it can keep more than 8 electrons in its last shell.

Always start to mark the lone pairs from outside atoms. Here, the outside atoms are hydrogens and sulfur. But no need to mark on hydrogen, because each hydrogen has already two electrons.

So for sulfur, there are three lone pairs, and for carbon, there is zero lone pair because all three electron pairs are over.

Mark the lone pairs on the sketch as follows:

CH2S Lewis Structure (Step 2) — Lone pairs marked on CH₂S Lewis structure

#3 Calculate and mark formal charges on the atoms, if required

Use the following formula to calculate the formal charges on atoms:

Formal charge = valence electrons – nonbonding electrons – ½ bonding electrons

For carbon atom, formal charge = 4 – 0 – ½ (6) = +1

For each hydrogen atom, formal charge = 1 – 0 – ½ (2) = 0

For sulfur atom, formal charge = 6 – 6 – ½ (2) = -1

Here, both carbon and sulfur atoms have charges, so mark them on the sketch as follows:

CH2S Lewis Structure (Step 3) — Formal charges marked on CH₂S Lewis structure

The above structure is not a stable Lewis structure because both carbon and sulfur atoms have charges. Therefore, reduce the charges (as below) by converting lone pairs to bonds.

#4 Convert lone pairs of the atoms, and minimize formal charges

Convert a lone pair of the sulfur atom to make a new C — S bond with the carbon atom as follows:

CH2S Lewis Structure (Step 4) — Lone pair of sulfur is converted, and got the stable Lewis structure of CH₂S

In the above structure, you can see that the central atom (carbon) forms an octet. The outside atom (sulfur) also forms an octet, and both hydrogens form a duet. Hence, the octet rule and duet rule are satisfied.

Therefore, this structure is the stable Lewis structure of CH₂S.

Next: C₄H₈ Lewis structure

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Deep

Learnool.com was founded by Deep Rana, who is a mechanical engineer by profession and a blogger by passion. He has a good conceptual knowledge on different educational topics and he provides the same on this website. He loves to learn something new everyday and believes that the best utilization of free time is developing a new skill.