Question

Explain the structure of sulfur dioxide

Answer 1

Sulphur Dioxide$\left({\mathrm{SO}}_2\right)$-

1. Sulphur Dioxide is commonly known as Sulfurous oxide.
2. It is a colorless and toxic gas.
3. It is highly reactive in nature.

Structure of Sulphur Dioxide

1. Sulfur dioxide $\left({\mathrm{SO}}_2\right)$ is a bent or V-shape molecule
2. In $\left({\mathrm{SO}}_2\right)$ , each oxygen atom is bonded to Sulphur by sigma and a pi bond.
3. In $\left({\mathrm{SO}}_2\right)$ both Sulphur and Oxygen are ${\mathrm{sp}}^2$ hybridized.
4. $\left({\mathrm{SO}}_2\right)$ has a $\mathrm{S}-\mathrm{O}-\mathrm{S}$ bond with an angle of ${119}^0.{}^{}$
5. Because of lone pair electrons present in Oxygen, the bond angle is reduced from ${120}^0$ to ${119}^0.{}^{}$.
6. One of the $pi$ bonds is formed by $p\pi -p\pi$overlapping of $S$ and $O$ while another$pi$ bond is formed by overlapping overlapping$\mathrm{p\pi }-\mathrm{d\pi }$overlapping of $O$and $S$.
7. Because all $\mathrm{p}$ orbital of $S$ is occupied and for further bond formation only $\mathrm{d}$ orbital is left.