Lewis structure of H2

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The Lewis structure of H₂ contains a single bond between the two hydrogen atoms, and both the atoms do not have any lone pair.

Steps

By using the following steps, you can easily draw the Lewis structure of H₂:

#1 Draw skeleton
#2 Show chemical bond
#3 Calculate formal charge and check stability (if there are no lone pairs and 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… hydrogen is a group 1 element. Hence, hydrogen has one valence electron.

Now H₂ has two hydrogen atoms.

So the total number of valence electrons = valence electrons of hydrogen atom × 2

Therefore, the total number of valence electrons = 1 × 2 = 2

• Now decide the central atom

There are two hydrogen atoms in H₂. Hence, we can assume any one as the central atom. Let’s assume that right hydrogen is the central atom.

So now, put two hydrogens next to each other. And draw the rough skeleton structure for the Lewis structure of H₂ something like this:

Also read: How to draw Lewis structure of SF₂ (4 steps)

#2 Show chemical bond

Place two electrons between the atoms to show a chemical bond as follows:

In the above structure, you can see that the duet is completed on the central atom (right hydrogen), and also on the outside atom. Therefore, the duet rule is satisfied.

After completing the duet, 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 N₃^– (5 steps)

#3 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 each hydrogen atom

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

Formal charge = 1 – 0 – ½ (2) = 0

Mention the formal charges of atoms on the structure. So the Lewis structure of H₂ looks something like this:

In the above structure, you can see that the formal charges of both hydrogens are zero. Therefore, this is the stable Lewis structure of H₂.

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

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Related

• Lewis structure of SF₂
• Lewis structure of N₃^–
• Lewis structure of Cl₂
• Lewis structure of COCl₂
• Lewis structure of BH₃

External links

• Lewis Structures| Hydrogen (H2), and Water (H2O) – What’s Insight
• H2 Lewis Structure, Geometry – Kemicalinfo
• H2 Lewis Structure (With Steps & Images) – Pediabay
• What is the Lewis dot structure for H2? – Homework.Study.com
• Chemical Bonding: H2 Lewis Structure – The Geoexchange
• How to Draw the Dot Structure for H2 – Pinterest
• Draw a Lewis structure of the H2 molecule – Chegg
• The covalent bonding in the hydrogen molecule – Doc Brown’s Chemistry
• draw a Lewis structure that represents a hydrogen molecule (H2) and show the relative polarities of the atoms (with partial charges δ+ and δ-), if any – Bartleby
• lewis dot structure for h2 – Brainly
• H2 Lewis structure – ShowMe
• What is the electron dot diagram for H2? – Socratic
• Draw a Lewis structure of the H2 molecule – OneClass