Resonance structures

Resonance structures

It is often observed that a single Lewis structure is inadequate for the representation of a molecule in conformity with its experimentally determined parameters. For example, the ozone, O₃ molecule can be equally represented by the structures I and II shown below:

                               

In both structures we have a O-O single bond and a O=O double bond. The normal O-O and O=O bond lengths are 148 pm and 121 pm respectively. Experimentally determined oxygen-oxygen bond lengths in the O₃ molecules are same (128 pm). Thus the oxygen-oxygen bonds in the O₃ molecule are intermediate between a double and a single bond. Obviously, this cannot be represented by either of the two Lewis structures shown above.

The concept of resonance was introduced to deal with the type of difficulty experienced in the depiction of accurate structures of molecules like O₃. According to the concept of resonance, whenever a single Lewis structure cannot describe a molecule accurately, a number of structures with similar energy, positions of nuclei, bonding and non-bonding pairs of electrons are taken as the canonical structures of the hybrid which describes the molecule accurately. Thus for O₃, the two structures shown above constitute the canonical structures or resonance structures and their hybrid i.e., the III structure represents the structure of O₃ more accurately. This is also called resonance hybrid. Resonance is represented by a double headed arrow.

Some of the other examples of resonance structures are provided by the carbonate ion and the carbon dioxide molecule.

 In general, it may be stated that

• Resonance stabilizes the molecule as the energy of the resonance hybrid is less than the energy of any single canonical structure; and,
• Resonance averages the bond characteristics as a whole.

Thus the energy of the O₃ resonance hybrid is lower than either of the two canonical forms I and II.