Lewis structure of NH2OH

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The Lewis structure of NH₂OH contains four single bonds, with nitrogen in the center, and oxygen and three hydrogens on either side. There is one lone pair on the nitrogen atom, two lone pairs on the oxygen atom, and the hydrogen atom does not have any lone pair.

Steps

By using the following steps, you can easily draw the Lewis structure of NH₂OH.

#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… nitrogen is a group 15 element, hydrogen is a group 1 element, and oxygen is a group 16 element. Hence, nitrogen has five valence electrons, hydrogen has one valence electron, and oxygen has six valence electrons.

Now NH₂OH has one nitrogen atom, three hydrogen atoms, and one oxygen atom.

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

Therefore, the total number of valence electrons = 5 + 3 + 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 nitrogen 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 nitrogen and oxygen as follows:

Electronegativity value of nitrogen = 3.04
Electronegativity value of oxygen = 3.44

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

So now, put nitrogen in the center and oxygen and three hydrogens on either side. And draw the rough skeleton structure for the Lewis structure of NH₂OH something like this:

Also read: How to draw Lewis structure of S₂O (6 steps)

#2 Show chemical bond

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

Also read: How to draw Lewis structure of C₂HCl (5 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 eight valence electrons. Hence, six valence electrons are remaining.

Two valence electrons represent one lone pair. So six valence electrons = three lone pairs.

Note that both (nitrogen 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 (nitrogen) will get one lone pair.

Now draw the Lewis structure of NH₂OH something like this:

In the above structure, you can see that the octet is completed on the central atom (nitrogen), 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 HO₂^– (4 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 nitrogen atom

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

Formal charge = 5 – 2 – ½ (6) = 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 NH₂OH 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 NH₂OH.

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

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Related

• Lewis structure of S₂O
• Lewis structure of C₂HCl
• Lewis structure of HO₂^–
• Lewis structure of TeF₄
• Lewis structure of SO

External links

• Lewis Structure for NH2OH – The University of Maryland
• Chemical Bonding: NH2OH Lewis Structure – The Geoexchange
• NH2OH Lewis Structure in 6 Steps (With Images) – Pediabay
• NH2OH lewis structure, Molecular geometry, and Bond angle – Topblogtenz
• Draw the Lewis structure for NH2OH – Homework.Study.com
• Lewis Dot of Hydroxyl Amine NH2OH – Kent’s Chemistry
• Draw a Lewis structure for hydroxylamine, NH2OH – Chegg
• nh2oh lewis structure – Quizlet
• What is the Lewis structure for NH2OH (with an N-O bond)? – Numerade
• What is the NH2OH lewis structure? – OneClass
• How many bonding pairs and lone pairs are in NH2OH? – Quora