Question

Explain the structure of carbon dioxide.

Answer 1

Structure of Carbon Dioxide $\left({\mathrm{CO}}_2\right)$

1. The carbon dioxide molecule has two double bonds between Carbon$\left(\mathrm{C}\right)$ and Oxygen$\left(\mathrm{O}\right)$ atoms.
2. A double bond consists of a sigma and a pi bond which means $\left({\mathrm{CO}}_2\right)$ in total contains $2$ sigma and $2$ pi bonds.
3. The bond angle between Carbon and two Oxygen is 180° as it is linear in structure.$\left(\mathrm{O}=\mathrm{C}=\mathrm{O}\right)$
4. The hybridization of $\mathrm{C}$ in $\left({\mathrm{CO}}_2\right)$ is$\mathrm{sp}$ and $\mathrm{O}$ is ${\mathrm{sp}}^2$ hybridized.
5. With the electronegativity difference in $\mathrm{C}$ and$\mathrm{O}$, the bonds formed in $\left({\mathrm{CO}}_2\right)$ are polar.
6. But because of two Oxygen molecules on each side of Carbon, the dipole moment gets canceled, and the compound has no final dipole moment.