Lewis structure of XeH4

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The Lewis structure of XeH₄ contains four single bonds, with xenon in the center, and four hydrogens on either side. There are two lone pairs on the xenon 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 XeH₄.

#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… xenon is a group 18 element and hydrogen is a group 1 element. Hence, xenon has eight valence electrons and hydrogen has one valence electron.

Now XeH₄ has one xenon atom and four hydrogen atoms.

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

Therefore, the total number of valence electrons = 8 + 4 = 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.

Hence, assume that xenon is the central atom.

So now, put xenon in the center and hydrogens on either side. And draw the rough skeleton structure for the Lewis structure of XeH₄ something like this:

Also read: How to draw Lewis structure of BeI₂ (4 steps)

#2 Show chemical bond

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

Also read: How to draw Lewis structure of SiCl₂Br₂ (4 steps)

#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 xenon is a period 5 element, so it can keep more than 8 electrons in its 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. But hydrogen can not keep more than 2 electrons in its last shell. Hence, don’t mark the lone pairs on hydrogen.

So the central atom (xenon) will get two lone pairs.

Now draw the Lewis structure of XeH₄ something like this:

In the above structure, you can see that the octet is completed on the central atom (xenon), 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 POCl₃ (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 xenon atom

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

Formal charge = 8 – 4 – ½ (8) = 0

• 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 XeH₄ looks something like this:

In the above structure, you can see that the formal charges of both (xenon and hydrogen) are zero. Therefore, this is the stable Lewis structure of XeH₄.

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

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Related

• Lewis structure of BeI₂
• Lewis structure of SiCl₂Br₂
• Lewis structure of POCl₃
• Lewis structure of SOCl₂
• Lewis structure of ICl

External links

• Chemical Bonding: XeH4 Lewis Structure – The Geoexchange
• XeH4 Lewis Structure in 5 Steps (With Images) – Pediabay
• What is the Lewis structure of XeH₄? – Homework.Study.com
• what is the lewis structure of XeH4 – Chegg
• Lewis structure XeH4? – Brainly
• What is the lewis structure of XeH4? – OneClass
• In the XeH4 Lewis structure, how many electrons are around the Xe central atom? – Numerade
• Lewis structure of XeF4 – AceOrganicChem