Is nitrosyl chloride (NOCl) polar or nonpolar?

Question

Jules Bruno · Accepted Answer

We’re being asked to determine if NOCl is a polar or nonpolar molecule. To do so, we first need to do the following steps:Step 1: Determine the central atom in this molecule.Step 2: Calculate the total number of valence electrons present.Step 3: Draw the Lewis structure for the molecule.Step 4: Draw dipole arrows for each bond.Step 5: Determine the polarity of the molecule.Step 1: N is the least electronegative element so it is the central atom.[readmore]Step 2: The total number of valence electrons present in NOCl is:            Group            Valence ElectronsN         5A                   1 × 5 e– = 5 e–O         6A                   1 × 6 e– = 6 e–Cl        7A                   1 × 7 e– = 7 e–Total:  18 valence e–Step 3: Nitrogen prefers to form 3 bonds, oxygen prefers to form 2 bonds while halogens, when not the central atom, form only 1 bond.A bond corresponds to 2 electrons shared between two atoms so we currently have 3 × 2 e– = 6 val. e–, which means we’re still lacking 12 e–. We can start adding the missing electrons to the atoms while following the octet rule. The complete Lewis structure is:Step 4: O and Cl are both more electronegative than N. Drawing the dipole arrows:Step 5: Recall that some molecular shapes are inherently asymmetrical and always lead to polar compounds, as shown below.We can see that NOCl follows the shape AX2E1, which corresponds to bent (asymmetrical). This means NOCl is a polar molecule.Therefore, nitrosyl chloride (NOCl) is polar.

Problem: Is nitrosyl chloride (NOCl) polar or nonpolar?

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Problem Details

Problem: Is nitrosyl chloride (NOCl) polar or nonpolar?

FREE Expert Solution

Problem Details

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