Question

In nitryl chloride ${\mathbf{NO}}_{\mathbf{2}}\mathbf{Cl}$, the chlorine atom and the two oxygen atoms are bonded to a central nitrogen atom, and all the atoms lie in a plane. Draw the two electron dot resonance forms that satisfy the octet rule and that together are consistent with the fact that the two nitrogen-oxygen bonds are equivalent.

Short answer

The two-electron dot resonance forms that satisfy the octet rule in which nitrogen-oxygen bonds are equivalent are given below:

Step-by-step solution

The given information.

It is given that in nitryl chloride, there are one chlorine and two oxygen atoms that are bonded to a central nitrogen atom. Here, all the atoms are in a plane.

Skeletal structure

Initially, we must calculate the total number of valence electrons in the compound ${\mathrm{NO}}_2\mathrm{Cl}$.

Here, the valency of nitrogen is 5, oxygen is 6, and chlorine is 7. Therefore, nitrogen needs 3 electrons, oxygen needs 2 electrons, and chlorine needs 1 electron to complete the octet.

Now, the octet rule of nitrogen is not satisfied, and hence, we need to add a double bond between nitrogen and oxygen. The stable resonance form is given below:

Resonance forms in which the nitrogen-oxygen bond is equivalent.

The two-electron dot resonance forms that satisfy the octet rule is given below:

In both of these forms, the bond order of both nitrogen-oxygen bonds is the same.