Lewis structure of CH3OH

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The Lewis structure of CH₃OH contains five single bonds, with carbon in the center, and oxygen and four hydrogens on either side. There are two lone pairs on the oxygen 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 CH₃OH:

#1 Draw skeleton
#2 Show chemical bond
#3 Mark lone pairs
#4 Calculate formal charge and check stability (if octet is already completed on central atom)

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 oxygen is a group 16 element. Hence, carbon has four valence electrons, hydrogen has one valence electron, and oxygen has six valence electrons.

Now CH₃OH has one carbon atom, four hydrogen atoms, and one oxygen atom.

So the total number of valence electrons = valence electrons of carbon atom + (valence electrons of hydrogen atom × 4) + valence electrons of oxygen atom

Therefore, the total number of valence electrons = 4 + 4 + 6 = 14

• 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 oxygen.

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 oxygen as follows:

Electronegativity value of carbon = 2.55
Electronegativity value of oxygen = 3.44

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

So now, put carbon in the center and hydrogens and oxygen on either side. And draw the rough skeleton structure for the Lewis structure of CH₃OH something like this:

Also read: How to draw Lewis structure of PH₃ (4 steps)

#2 Show chemical bond

Place two electrons between the atoms to show a chemical bond. Since carbon is surrounded by hydrogens and oxygen, use ten electrons to show five chemical bonds as follows:

Also read: How to draw Lewis structure of XeF₂ (4 steps)

#3 Mark lone pairs

As calculated earlier, we have a total of 14 valence electrons. And in the above structure, we have already used ten 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 oxygen) 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 oxygen. But hydrogen can not keep more than 2 electrons in its last shell. Hence, don’t mark the lone pairs on hydrogen.

So oxygen 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 CH₃OH 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 N₂O (5 steps)

#4 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 oxygen atom

Valence electrons = 6
Nonbonding electrons = 4
Bonding electrons = 4

Formal charge = 6 – 4 – ½ (4) = 0

Mention the formal charges of atoms on the structure. So the Lewis structure of CH₃OH looks something like this:

In the above structure, you can see that the formal charges of atoms are closer to zero. Therefore, this is the stable Lewis structure of CH₃OH.

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

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Related

• Lewis structure of PH₃
• Lewis structure of XeF₂
• Lewis structure of N₂O
• Lewis structure of I₃^–
• Lewis structure of BCl₃

External links

• CH3OH Lewis structure , Molecular Geometry and Shape – Geometry of Molecules
• Methanol (CH3OH | Methyl Alcohol) Lewis Structure and Steps of Drawing – Chemistry School
• CH3OH lewis structure, molecular geometry, hybridization, bond angle – Topblogtenz
• Lewis structure, Hybridization, and Molecular Geometry of CH3OH – Medium
• CH3OH Lewis Structure, Geometry, Hybridization, and Polarity – Techiescientist
• What is the Lewis structure of ch3oh? – Quora
• Drawing the Lewis Structure for CH3OH – The Geoexchange
• CH3OH Lewis Structure (Methanol) – Pinterest
• Methanol | Structure, Density & Molar Mass – Study.com
• CH3OH Lewis Structure in 6 Steps (With Images) – Pediabay
• Lewis Dot of Methanol CH3OH – Kent’s Chemistry
• The Lewis Structure For Methanol, CH3OH – Chegg
• Draw the Lewis structure of methanol (CH3OH) and then choose the appropriate pair of molecular geometries of the two central atoms – Bartleby
• What is the Lewis structure for methanol, CH3OH? – OneClass
• Draw the Lewis structure ofCH3 OH(methanol), a neutral compound – Course Hero
• In the lewis structure of ch3oh, how many bonding pairs of electrons are there? – Brainly
• Lewis dot structure of CH3OH – Quizlet