Write the Lewis structure for each of the following. You may wish to review the chapter on chemical bonding and molecular geometry.

(a)\(P{H_3}\).

(b)\(P{H_4} + \).

(c)\({P_2}{H_4}\).

(d)\(P{O_4}^3 - \)

(e)\(P{F_5}\)

• Lewis structures, also known as Lewis dot formulas, Lewis dot structures, electron dot structures.
• Lewis electron dot structures, are diagrams that depict the bonding between atoms in a molecule as well as any lone pairs of electrons that may be present.

(a)The lewis structure of PH₃

In phosphine\(P{H_3},\)Phosphorus (P) is attached to\(3H\)atoms. The valence electron configurations of the elements are as follows:

\(\begin{array}{l}P = 3\;{s^2}3{p^3}\\H = 1\;{s^1}\end{array}\)

As a result, the total number of valence electrons involved is: 8. The centre P atom has a lone pair of electrons in addition to the three bond pairs.

(b)The lewis structure of \(PH_4^ + \)

In\(PH_4^ + \), Phosphorus (P) is attached to 4 H atoms. The valence electron configurations of the elements are as follows:

\(\begin{array}{l}P = 3{s^2}3{p^3}\\H = 1\;{s^1}\end{array}\)

As a result, the total number of valence electrons involved is: 9. Furthermore, because the molecule has a net charge of +1, the actual electrons involved in bonding are 9-1=8.

(c)The lewis structure of \(In{P_2}{H_4}\)

\(In{P_2}{H_4}\), Each Patom has a link with another Patom 2 H atoms. A covalent bond also exists between the two P atoms.

The valence electron configurations of the elements are as follows:

\(\begin{array}{l}P = 3{s^2}3{p^3}\\H = 1\;{s^1}\end{array}\)

As a result, the total number of valence electrons involved is: 14. Each P atom has one lone pair of electrons in addition to the two bond pairs.

(d)The lewis structure of \(PO_4^{3 - }\)

In\(PO_4^{3 - }\), The P atom is surrounded by 40 other atoms. The valence electron configurations of the elements are as follows:

\(\begin{array}{l}P = 3{s^2}3{p^3}\\O = 2{s^2}2{p^4}\end{array}\)

As a result, the number of valence electrons involved is: 29. Furthermore, there is a -3 net charge. As a result, the molecular ion's total electrons are 29+3=32. For example, the Lewis structure for \(PO_4^{3 - }\) is essentially a resonance hybrid with a partial double bond character on each P-O bond.

(e)The lewis structure of \(P{F_5}\)

In\(P{F_5}\), Phosphorus (P) is attached to\(5\;F\)atoms. The valence electron configurations of the elements are as follows:

\(\begin{array}{l}P = 3{s^2}3{p^3}\\F = 2{s^2}2{p^5}\end{array}\)

As a result, the total number of valence electrons involved is 40. Each F atom is surrounded by 5 bond pairs and 3 lone pairs.