Lewis Structure of Cl2O2 (With 6 Simple Steps to Draw!)

I’m super excited to teach you the lewis structure of Cl2O2 in just 6 simple steps.

Infact, I’ve also given the step-by-step images for drawing the lewis dot structure of Cl2O2 molecule.

So, if you are ready to go with these 6 simple steps, then let’s dive right into it!

Lewis structure of Cl2O2 contains a single bond between the two Oxygen (O) atoms as well as between Oxygen (O) & Chlorine (Cl) atoms. The two Oxygen atoms (O) are at the center and they are surrounded by 2 Chlorine atoms (Cl). The Oxygen atoms have 2 lone pairs, while the Chlorine atoms have 3 lone pairs. 

Let’s draw and understand this lewis dot structure step by step.

(Note: Take a pen and paper with you and try to draw this lewis structure along with me. I am sure you will definitely learn how to draw lewis structure of Cl2O2).

6 Steps to Draw the Lewis Structure of Cl2O2

Step #1: Calculate the total number of valence electrons

Here, the given molecule is Cl2O2. In order to draw the lewis structure of Cl2O2, first of all you have to find the total number of valence electrons present in the Cl2O2 molecule.
(Valence electrons are the number of electrons present in the outermost shell of an atom).

So, let’s calculate this first.

Calculation of valence electrons in Cl2O2

• For Chlorine:

Chlorine is a group 17 element on the periodic table.

Hence, the valence electron present in chlorine is 7 (see below image).

• For Oxygen:

Oxygen is a group 16 element on the periodic table.

Hence, the valence electron present in oxygen is 6 (see below image).

Hence in a Cl2O2 molecule, 

Valence electrons given by each Chlorine (Cl) atom = 7
Valence electron given by each Oxygen (O) atom = 6
So, total number of Valence electrons in Cl2O2 molecule = 7(2) + 6(2) = 26

Step #2: Make the rough sketch

Cl2O2 is a simple molecule that has 2 oxygen atoms at the center and the 2 chlorine atoms are surrounding it.

Step #3: Put two electrons between the atoms to represent a chemical bond

Now in the above sketch of Cl2O2 molecule, put the two electrons (i.e electron pair) between the oxygen-oxygen atoms and oxygen-chlorine atoms to represent a chemical bond between them.

These pairs of electrons present between the Oxygen atoms as well as between the Oxygen and Chlorine atoms form a chemical bond, which bonds these atoms with each other in a Cl2O2 molecule.

Step #4: Complete the octet (or duplet) on outside atoms. If the valence electrons are left, then put the valence electrons pair on the central atom

Don’t worry, I’ll explain!

In the Lewis structure of Cl2O2, the outer atoms are chlorine atoms.

So now, you have to complete the octet on these chlorine atoms (because chlorine requires 8 electrons to have a complete outer shell).

Now, you can see in the above image that all the chlorine atoms form an octet.

Also, only 18 valence electrons of Cl2O2 molecule are used in the above structure.

But there are total 26 valence electrons in Cl2O2 molecule (as calculated in step #1).

So the number of electrons left to be kept on the central atom = 26 – 18 = 8.

So let’s keep these eight electrons (i.e 4 electron pairs) on the central atoms.

Now, let’s move to the next step.

Step #5: Check whether the central atom has octet or not

In this step, we have to check whether the central atoms (i.e two oxygen atoms) have an octet or not. 

In simple words, we have to check whether the central Oxygen (O) atoms has 8 electrons or not.

As you can see from the above image, the central atoms (i.e oxygen), has 8 electrons. So they fulfill the octet rule and both the oxygen atoms are stable.

Step #6: Final step – Check the stability of lewis structure by calculating the formal charge on each atom

Now, you have come to the final step and here you have to check the formal charge on oxygen atoms (O) as well as chlorine atoms (Cl).

For that, you need to remember the formula of formal charge;

Formal charge = Valence electrons – Nonbonding electrons – (Bonding electrons)/2

• For Oxygen:
  Valence electrons = 6 (as it is in group 16)
  Nonbonding electrons = 0
  Bonding electrons = 8
• For Chlorine:
  Valence electrons = 7 (as it is in group 17)
  Nonbonding electrons = 6
  Bonding electrons = 2

Formal charge	=	Valence electrons	–	Nonbonding electrons	–	(Bonding electrons)/2
O	=	6	–	4	–	4/2	=	0
Cl	=	7	–	6	–	2/2	=	0

So you can see above that the formal charges on oxygen as well as chlorine are “zero”.

Hence, there will not be any change in the above structure and the above lewis structure of Cl2O2 is the final stable structure only.

Each electron pair (:) in the lewis dot structure of Cl2O2 represents the single bond ( | ). So the above lewis dot structure of Cl2O2 can also be represented as shown below.

Related lewis structures for your practice:
Lewis Structure of XeI2
Lewis Structure of PF2Cl3
Lewis Structure of IBr4-
Lewis Structure of SeOBr2
Lewis Structure of HBrO2 

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