calculate the bond order for NO2+ ion, regarding all the resonance structures

calculate the bond order for NO2+ ion, regarding all the resonance structures

The Correct Answer and Explanation is:

To calculate the bond order for the NO2+\text{NO}_2^+NO2+​ ion, we need to consider its molecular structure and resonance. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown:

Step 1: Lewis Structure

For the NO2+\text{NO}_2^+NO2+​ ion:

  1. Nitrogen (N) has 5 valence electrons, and each oxygen (O) has 6 valence electrons.
  2. The ion has a positive charge, so it has one fewer electron (total valence electrons = 5 (from N) + 2×6 (from O) − 1 (positive charge) = 16 electrons).
  3. In the most common Lewis structure, nitrogen is in the center, double-bonded to both oxygen atoms, with a lone pair on each oxygen.

Step 2: Resonance Structures

The NO2+\text{NO}_2^+NO2+​ ion exhibits resonance. There are two major resonance structures:

  1. Structure 1: One oxygen has a double bond with nitrogen, and the other has a single bond. The singly bonded oxygen carries a negative charge, while nitrogen carries a positive charge.
  2. Structure 2: The positions of the bonds and charges are flipped.

Both of these structures contribute equally to the actual bonding in the molecule.

Step 3: Bond Order Calculation

Bond order is calculated using the following formula:Bond Order=Number of bonding electrons−Number of antibonding electrons2\text{Bond Order} = \frac{\text{Number of bonding electrons} – \text{Number of antibonding electrons}}{2}Bond Order=2Number of bonding electrons−Number of antibonding electrons​

In this case:

  • The number of bonding electrons in each resonance structure is 8 (from the double bonds).
  • There are no antibonding electrons because we have a stable bonding configuration.

Thus, the bond order can be calculated as:Bond Order=82=4\text{Bond Order} = \frac{8}{2} = 4Bond Order=28​=4

Step 4: Conclusion

For NO2+\text{NO}_2^+NO2+​, considering the resonance structures, the bond order is 2, as the molecule is in between two resonance forms where each nitrogen-oxygen bond has partial double bond character. The bond order is closer to 2 because the electron distribution is more uniform.

The bond order of the NO2+\text{NO}_2^+NO2+​ ion is 2, indicating that the bonding is stronger than in NO2\text{NO}_2NO2​, where the bond order is 1.5.

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