SeS2 Lewis structure

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SeS2 Lewis Structure
SeS2 Lewis structure

SeS2 (selenium disulfide) has one selenium atom and two sulfur atoms.

In the SeS2 Lewis structure, there are two double bonds around the selenium atom, with two sulfur atoms attached to it. Each sulfur atom has two lone pairs, and the selenium atom has one lone pair.

Steps

Here’s how you can easily draw the SeS2 Lewis structure step by step:

#1 Draw a rough skeleton structure
#2 Mention lone pairs on the atoms
#3 If needed, mention formal charges on the atoms
#4 Minimize formal charges by converting lone pairs of the atoms, and try to get a stable Lewis structure
#5 Repeat step 4 again if needed, until all charges are minimized

Now, let’s take a closer look at each step mentioned above.

#1 Draw a rough skeleton structure

  • First, determine the total number of valence electrons
Periodic table

In the periodic table, both selenium and sulfur lie in group 16.

Hence, both selenium and sulfur have six valence electrons.

Since SeS2 has one selenium atom and two sulfur atoms, so…

Valence electrons of one selenium atom = 6 × 1 = 6
Valence electrons of two sulfur atoms = 6 × 2 = 12

And the total valence electrons = 6 + 12 = 18

  • Second, find the total electron pairs

We have a total of 18 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 = 18 ÷ 2 = 9

  • Third, determine the central atom

We have to place the least electronegative atom at the center.

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

Therefore, place selenium in the center and sulfurs on either side.

  • And finally, draw the rough sketch
SeS2 Lewis Structure (Step 1)
Rough sketch of SeS2 Lewis structure

#2 Mention lone pairs on the atoms

Here, we have a total of 9 electron pairs. And two Se — S bonds are already marked. So we have to only mark the remaining seven electron pairs as lone pairs on the sketch.

Also remember that selenium is a period 4 element, so it can keep more than 8 electrons in its last shell. And sulfur is a period 3 element, so it can also keep more than 8 electrons in its last shell.

Always start to mark the lone pairs from outside atoms. Here, the outside atoms are sulfurs.

So for each sulfur, there are three lone pairs, and for selenium, there is one lone pair.

Mark the lone pairs on the sketch as follows:

SeS2 Lewis Structure (Step 2)
Lone pairs marked on SeS2 Lewis structure

#3 If needed, mention formal charges on the atoms

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

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

For selenium atom, formal charge = 6 – 2 – ½ (4) = +2

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

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

SeS2 Lewis Structure (Step 3)
Formal charges marked on SeS2 Lewis structure

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

#4 Minimize formal charges by converting lone pairs of the atoms

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

SeS2 Lewis Structure (Step 4)
Lone pair of left sulfur is converted, but still there are charges

#5 Since there are charges on atoms, repeat step 4 again

Since there are charges on selenium and sulfur atoms, again convert a lone pair of the sulfur atom to make a new Se — S bond with the selenium atom as follows:

SeS2 Lewis Structure (Step 5)
Lone pair of right sulfur is converted, and got the stable Lewis structure of SeS2

In the above structure, you can see that the central atom (selenium) forms an octet. And the outside atoms (sulfurs) also form an octet. Hence, the octet rule is satisfied.

Also, the above structure is more stable than the previous structures. Therefore, this structure is the stable Lewis structure of SeS2.

Next: SeF2 Lewis structure

External links

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.

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