Li2O lewis structure :Drawings, Hybridization, Shape, Charges, Pairs

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This article aims at explaining the li2o lewis structure and other topics. Lithium oxide is an ionic compound with the chemical formula Li2O.

Topics to be covered in this article are:

How to draw Li2O lewis structure

Li2O lewis structure octet rule

Li2O lewis structure shape

Li2O lewis structure formal charge

Li2O hybridization

Li2O lewis structure lone pairs

Li2O uses

Is Li2O stable?

Is Li2O ionic or covalent?

Li2O lewis structure octet rule

According to this rule, atoms try to fill eight electrons in their valence shell to achieve noble gas configuration and stability. 

This can be achieved by either sharing valence electrons(as in the case of covalent bonding) or by the transfer of electrons(as seen in ionic bonding).Hydrogen, helium, lithium, sulfur, and phosphorous are some examples of atoms that do not obey the octet rule.

How to draw Li2O lewis structure?

Lewis structure is a diagram in which valence electrons are arranged around all the atoms in a molecule in a way that it fills the valence shell of all the atoms present.

STEP 1: First, we have to recognize the central atom; it is usually the atom that is least in number or the atom that can form the most bonds.

Here, oxygen is the central atom with six electrons in its valence shell(2s2 2p6). It needs two more electrons to fill its valence shell, which it gets from the two lithium atoms.

Each lithium atom has one electron in its valence shell(2s1) that it donates to oxygen to attain a helium-like configuration(1s2). The valence electrons are shown by drawing dots around the atoms.

STEP 2: We will draw eight dots around oxygen(six valence electrons and two gained from lithium).

STEP 3: Lithium, after transferring its valence electron, will get a positive charge, and oxygen will get a 2- charge as it has gained two electrons.

The Li2O lewis structure is shown below:

li2o lewis structure
Li2O lewis structure

Li2O lewis structure shape

The li20 structure forms an fcc crystal lattice. The li2O crystal lattice has an antifluorite structure.In this structure, the oxide anions occupy the face-centered lattice points, whereas lithium ions occupy the tetrahedral voids.The cations and anions ratio in this structure is 4:8. The shape of covalent compounds is determined by VSEPR theory. Since Li20 is ionic, only the structure of its crystal lattice is determined.

Li2O lewis structure resonance

Molecules that form double(or triple) bonds can have multiple lewis structures. These are resonating structures of lewis diagrams. In Li2O, there are no double bonds, and we can only draw one lewis structure of it as no resonance is present.

Li2O lewis structure lone pairs

In Li2O, each lithium atom has one valence electron with no lone pair, and oxygen has six valence electrons with two lone pair electrons. The total number of valence electrons present in Li2O is eight.

Li2O hybridization

The hybridization concept is used to describe the bonding in covalent compounds only. Li2O is an ionic compound, and therefore, it does not participate in hybridization.

Li2O lewis structure formal charge

A formal charge is a hypothetical charge we get when we assume that electrons in a bond are shared equally(assuming equal electronegativities of all atoms). The formal charge is calculated for a covalent bond. Since Li2O is an ionic compound, we cannot calculate its formal charge.

Li2O uses

  • Lithium oxide is used as a flux-it lowers the high melting point of glass, therefore used in the ceramic and glass industry. It promotes liquefaction.
  • It is an important material for lithium-ion batteries.
  • It is used to absorb carbon dioxide and water from the air.
  • It is used to produce lithium metal and lithium hydroxide by electrolysis of lithium oxide.
  • It produces blue and pink colors with copper and cobalt metal, respectively, and is used to color ceramics.

Is Li2O stable?

Li2O has high lattice energy and is thermodynamically stable.

 Lattice energy depends on the charge of metal(lithium in this case) and decreases as the size of the anion increases. Since oxide is a small anion, lithium oxide will have high lattice energy, making it stable(Thermodynamic stability depends on the lattice energy).

CONCLUSION

Lithium oxide is an ionic compound. We explained the lewis diagram, stability, hybridization, use, and other important aspects related to lithium oxide.

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