Lewis structure of CH2NH

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The Lewis structure of CH₂NH contains one double bond and three single bonds, with carbon and nitrogen in the center, and three hydrogens on either side. There is one lone pair on the nitrogen atom, and carbon atom and hydrogen atom do not have any lone pair.

Steps

By using the following steps, you can easily draw the Lewis structure of CH₂NH.

#1 Draw skeleton
#2 Show chemical bond
#3 Mark lone pairs
#4 Complete octet on central atom
#5 Calculate formal charge and check stability

Let’s one by one discuss each step in detail.

#1 Draw skeleton

In this step, first calculate the total number of valence electrons. And then, decide the central atom.

• Let’s calculate the total number of valence electrons

We know that… carbon is a group 14 element, hydrogen is a group 1 element, and nitrogen is a group 15 element. Hence, carbon has four valence electrons, hydrogen has one valence electron, and nitrogen has five valence electrons.

Now CH₂NH has one carbon atom, three hydrogen atoms, and one nitrogen atom.

So the total number of valence electrons = valence electrons of carbon atom + (valence electrons of hydrogen atom × 3) + valence electrons of nitrogen atom

Therefore, the total number of valence electrons = 4 + 3 + 5 = 12

• Now decide the central atom

We can not assume hydrogen as the central atom, because the central atom is bonded with at least two other atoms. And hydrogen has only one electron in its last shell, so it can not make more than one bond.

Therefore, choose the central atom from carbon and nitrogen.

The atom with the least electronegative value is placed at the center. By looking at the periodic table, we get the electronegativity values for carbon and nitrogen as follows:

Electronegativity value of carbon = 2.55
Electronegativity value of nitrogen = 3.04

Obviously, carbon is less electronegative than nitrogen. Hence, assume that carbon is the central atom.

So now, put carbon in the center and nitrogen and three hydrogens on either side. And draw the rough skeleton structure for the Lewis structure of CH₂NH something like this:

Also read: How to draw Lewis structure of HClO₂ (5 steps)

#2 Show chemical bond

Place two electrons between the atoms to show a chemical bond. Since carbon is surrounded by nitrogen and three hydrogens, use eight electrons to show four chemical bonds as follows:

#3 Mark lone pairs

As calculated earlier, we have a total of 12 valence electrons. And in the above structure, we have already used eight valence electrons. Hence, four valence electrons are remaining.

Two valence electrons represent one lone pair. So four valence electrons = two lone pairs.

Note that both (carbon and nitrogen) are the period 2 elements, so they can not keep more than 8 electrons in their last shell. And hydrogen is a period 1 element, so it can not keep more than 2 electrons in its last shell.

Also, make sure that you start marking these lone pairs on outside atoms first. And then, on the central atom.

The outside atoms are hydrogens and nitrogen. But hydrogen can not keep more than 2 electrons in its last shell. Hence, don’t mark the lone pairs on hydrogen.

So nitrogen will get two lone pairs. And the central atom (carbon) will not get any lone pair, because all two lone pairs are used.

Now draw the Lewis structure of CH₂NH something like this:

In the above structure, you can see that the octet is completed on outside atoms. But, the central atom (carbon) doesn’t form an octet.

So in the next step, we have to complete the octet on the central atom.

Also read: How to draw Lewis structure of HClO₃ (5 steps)

#4 Complete octet on central atom

Remember that carbon is a period 2 element, so it can not keep more than 8 electrons in its last shell.

Now carbon already has six valence electrons. Hence, carbon needs two more valence electrons to complete its octet.

So convert one lone pair from the nitrogen atom to make a new bond with the carbon atom. And then, the Lewis structure of CH₂NH looks something like this:

In the above structure, you can see that the octet is completed on the central atom (carbon), and also on the outside atoms. Therefore, the octet rule is satisfied.

After completing the octet, one last thing we need to do is, calculate the formal charge and check the stability of the above structure.

Also read: How to draw Lewis structure of KrF₄ (4 steps)

#5 Calculate formal charge and check stability

The following formula is used to calculate the formal charges on atoms:

Formal charge = valence electrons – nonbonding electrons – ½ bonding electrons

Collect the data from the above structure and then, write it down below as follows:

• For carbon atom

Valence electrons = 4
Nonbonding electrons = 0
Bonding electrons = 8

Formal charge = 4 – 0 – ½ (8) = 0

• For each hydrogen atom

Valence electrons = 1
Nonbonding electrons = 0
Bonding electrons = 2

Formal charge = 1 – 0 – ½ (2) = 0

• For nitrogen atom

Valence electrons = 5
Nonbonding electrons = 2
Bonding electrons = 6

Formal charge = 5 – 2 – ½ (6) = 0

Mention the formal charges of atoms on the structure. So the Lewis structure of CH₂NH looks something like this:

In the above structure, you can see that the formal charges of all atoms are zero. Therefore, this is the stable Lewis structure of CH₂NH.

And each horizontal line drawn in the above structure represents a pair of bonding valence electrons.

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Related

• Lewis structure of HClO₂
• Lewis structure of HClO₃
• Lewis structure of KrF₄
• Lewis structure of HClO₄
• Lewis structure of MnO₄^–

External links

• The skeletal structure for methyleneimine (CH2NH) is shown – Chegg
• The skeletal structure for methyleneimine (CH2NH) is shown – Bartleby
• Draw the Lewis structure for CH2NH – OneClass