Question

What is the formal charge on the central nitrogen in the Lewis structure of N2O?

Answer 1

Well, for both nitrogens the average charge is `+1/2`....

Explanation:

And the typical resonance structures are....

`N-=stackrel(+)N-O^(-)`...and `""^(-)N=stackrel(+)N=O`..

...i.e. the positive charge is distributed across the TWO nitrogen centres.

The nitrogen-nitrogen bond length is approx. `1.13xx10^-10*m` and the nitrogen-oxygen bond length is `1.19xx10^-10*m`....

What is the structure of this molecule?