Sulfur tetrachloride (SCl4) Ion Lewis Structure
Sulfur tetrachloride (SCl4) contains one sulfur atom and four chlorine atoms. Lewis structure of SCl4 contains four S-Cl bonds. There is one lone pair on sulfur atom and three lone pairs on each chlorine atom. No charges can be seen on atoms in SCl4 lewis structure.
SCl4 lewis structure
Each chlorine atom has made single bonds with sulfur atom. Also, there are three lone pairs exist on all chlorine atoms and one lone pair on sulfur atom.
Steps of drawing lewis structure of SCl4
When we draw a lewis structures, there are several guidelines to follow. Number of steps can be changed according the complexity of the molecule or ion. Because SCl4 is an simple molecule and contains only three atoms, drawing its lewis structure is not a challenging task. However, those all steps are mentioned and explained in detail in this tutorial to improve your knowledge about how to draw a lewis structure.
- Find total number of electrons of the valance shells of sulfur atom and chlorine atoms
- Determine total electrons pairs existing as lone pairs and bonds
- Deciding center atom selection
- Mark lone pairs on atoms
- Mark charges on atoms if there are charges.
- Check the stability and minimize charges on atoms by converting lone pairs to bonds to obtain best lewis structure.
Total number of electrons of the valance shells of SCl4
There are two elements in sulfur tetrachloride ion; sulfur and chlorine. Sulfur is located in group VIA in the periodic table and contains six electrons in its last shell (valence shell). Chlorine is a group VIIA element in the periodic table and contains seven electrons in its last shell. Now, we know how many electrons are there in valence shells of oxygen and bromine atoms.
- valence electrons given by sulfur atom = 6 * 1 = 6
- valence electrons given by chlorine atoms = 7 * 4 = 28
- Because there is no overall charge in SCl4, no need to add or remove from the total number of valence electrons.
- Total valence electrons = 6 + 28 = 34
Total valence electrons pairs
Total valance electrons pairs = σ bonds + π bonds + lone pairs at valence shells
Total electron pairs are determined by dividing the number total valence electrons by two. For, SCl4, total pairs of electrons are seventeen in their valence shells.
Center atom of SCl4
Being more electropositive and having higher valence are the main requirements to be a center atom.
Because, chlorine can show higher valance (7) than sulfur, we can think chlorine has the higher priority to be the center atom in SCl4 molecule.
But, sulfur is more electropositive than chlorine, it says sulfur should be the center atom.
However, sulfur is the center atom in SCl4 molecule.
Mark lone pairs on atoms
After determining the center atom and sketch of SCl4 molecule, we can start to mark lone pairs on atoms. Remember that, there are total of seventeen electron pairs.
- There are already four bonds in the drawn skeletal. So, now only thirteen (17-4) electron pairs are remaining to mark as lone pairs.
- Usually, those remaining electron pairs should be started to mark on outside atoms. Therefore, we can start to mark those remaining electrons pairs on chlorine atoms. One chlorine atom will take three lone pairs. Then, twelve electron pairs are marked on four chlorine atoms.
- Now, one (13-12) electron pairs are remaining and it is marked on sulfur atom as following figure.
Mark charges on atoms
There are no charges on atoms in above drawn sulfur tetrachloride structure after marking lone pairs.
Check the stability and minimize charges on atoms by converting lone pairs to bonds
Because, there are no charges on atoms, no need to reduce charges by converting lone pairs to bonds to find the most stable structures.
Questions