Question

Question: Sulfuric acid is the industrial chemical produced in greatest quantity worldwide. About \({\rm{90}}\) billion pounds are produced each year in the United States alone. Write the Lewis structure for sulfuric acid, \({{\rm{H}}_{\rm{2}}}{\rm{S}}{{\rm{O}}_{\rm{4}}}\), which has two oxygen atoms and two \({\rm{OH}}\) groups bonded to the sulphur.

Short answer

The Lewis structure for sulfuric acid, \({{\rm{H}}_{\rm{2}}}{\rm{S}}{{\rm{O}}_{\rm{4}}}\), which has two oxygen atoms and two \(OH\) groups bonded to the sulphur is –

Step-by-step solution

Concept Introduction

A Lewis structure is a molecule's structural depiction in which dots represent electron locations surrounding the atoms and lines or dot pairs represent covalent connections.

Valence Electrons and Electron Pairs for Sulphuric Acid

Determine the number of valence electrons in the molecule.

Sulphur, a group\({\rm{16}}\)element, has\({\rm{6}}\)valence electrons and requires\({\rm{2}}\)electrons to complete its octet, but oxygen, also a group\({\rm{16}}\)element, has\({\rm{6}}\)electrons in its outermost shell and hence requires two electrons to complete its octet.

The hydrogen atom contains one electron in its valence shell and needs one more to achieve stability.

As a result, \({{\rm{H}}_{\rm{2}}}{\rm{S}}{{\rm{O}}_{\rm{4}}}\)'s total number of electrons is –

• Sulphur\({\rm{ = 6}}\)Valence Electrons
• Oxygen\({\rm{ = 6}}\)Valence Electrons;\({\rm{4}}\)Oxygen atoms\({\rm{4 \times 6 = 24}}\)
• Hydrogen \({\rm{ = 6}}\) Valence Electrons; \({\rm{2}}\) Hydrogen atoms \({\rm{2 \times 1 = 2}}\)

Total number of valence electrons \({\rm{ = 32}}\).

The hydrogen atom's electrons can also be thought of as two negative charges because they play such a minor part in the structure.

Central Atom and Lone Pairs for Sulphuric Acid

Drawing the fundamental structure – To determine the number of electrons required to complete the octet of the supplied atoms, sulphur is used as the centre atom, which is linked with all four oxygen atoms through a single bond.

Looking at the structure, it's evident that two oxygen atoms, along with the sulphur atom, form an octet.

Although it can be seen here that sulphur now has ten electrons in its valence shell after the establishment of four single bonds.

However, because sulphur is in the third row of the periodic table and is allowed to have an enlarged octet, this should not be a concern.

Lewis Structure for Sulphuric Acid

As a result, only two oxygen atoms are left, each of which needs one electron to achieve its stable state, and they establish a double bond with the sulphur atom in an attempt to do so.

The final structure of sulphuric acid, is given below –

Therefore, the Lewis structure of sulphuric acid is obtained.