Which portion of the compound lithium nitrate, #LiNO_3#, is a covalently bonded polyatomic ion?

1 Answer
anor277
Jul 31, 2017

#"Lithium nitrate"# features the #Li^+# ion..........

Explanation:

with a #"nitrate counterion"#, #NO_3^-#.

The Lewis structure of nitrate features THREE formally charged atoms......i.e. a quaternized nitrogen #stackrel(+)N#, and two oxygen anions..............of course the formal charge is still #-1#.

#""^(-)O-stackrel(+)N(=O)-O^-#, and of course the negative charges are distributed all over the molecule. VESPER predicts a trigonal planar geometry for the 12 electron pairs......Clearly the nitrate ion is covalently bound, and its Lewis structure reflects this.

Related questions
See all questions in Polyatomic Ions
Impact of this question
2632 views around the world
You can reuse this answer
Creative Commons License