Question

Why is it so that covalent bonds don't have formal charges?

Answer 1

hmm...a bunch of covalently bonded organic molecules can be represented by lewis structures with formally charged atoms. i believe ozone is an example.

Answer 2

Yes, but how does it (O3) attain formal charge as it is a covalent bond and covalent bond has equal sharing.

Answer 3

I think, it will include coordinate bond.

Answer 4

Please check the attachment. I have included the "coordinate bond" there.

Answer 5

i don't understand your concern...formal charges are assigned by a set of rules that humans (not mother nature) made up. sometimes they can be completely wrong, as in they give us a wrong idea of what the electronic distribution actually looks like.

btw, i think your idea of "coordinately bonded" O3 is highly controversial. but that's beside the point.

Answer 6

Well, @gsoda can you draw the structure without the coordinate bond

Do you accept that O3 has a covalent bonding?

Answer 7

of course, i can draw one lewis structure of O3 with regular covalent bonds, and it's going to have formal charges. conventionally speaking, there's also going to be resonance and so on, but it's not the point.

yes, i accept that O3 has covalent bonding, but I am not going to say your picture is incorrect just because it looks a little funny to me.

why do we fixate on O3 though? what about azide and other example? are you going to say they are all coordinately bonded?

Answer 8

NO @gsoda , I am not against you but I just want to clear my doubt. Well, why is it funny to you? Anything wrong?

Answer 9

Please let me know the mistake.