Dibromomethane (CH2Br2) is a clear liquid that has a pleasant smell. With a melting point of -52.7 °C, or 62.8 °F, and a molecular weight of 173.8 g/mol, the substance has a boiling point between 96 °C and 98 °C. A density of 2.477 g/mL makes CH2Br2 denser than water.
CH₂Br₂ (Dibromomethane) has a tetrahedral Lewis structure: a central carbon (C) atom with 4 valence electrons forms single bonds with two hydrogen (H) atoms (1 valence electron each) and two bromine (Br) atoms (7 valence electrons each). Total of 20 valence electrons used. Bond angles are approximately 109.5°, typical for tetrahedral geometries. Electronegativity differences: C (2.55) – H (2.20), C – Br (2.96), indicating polar bonds. The molecule is nonpolar due to symmetrical arrangement of Br atoms.
How to draw CH2Br2 lewis structure?
An example of a Lewis structure is any molecule that has a covalent bond and any coordination compound. Let us draw the steps for the CH2Br2 lewis structure below.
Calculate the CH2Br2 valence electrons:
20 valence electrons are present in CH2Br2 molecules. Bromine has 7 valence electrons, compared to 1 for hydrogen and 4 for carbon.
Select the central atom in CH2Br2:
In the CH2Br2 molecules, carbon(C) is less electronegative than bromine(Br). As a result, carbon should be positioned in the middle, with the bromine atom surrounding it and keep hydrogen also outside as per the law.
To show a chemical bonding, place two electrons between the atoms:
In a CH2Br2 molecule, Put pairs of electrons between C-Br and C-H. The pairs of electrons that are present between the carbon and bromine atoms and the carbon and hydrogen atoms together create a chemical bond.
To make the octet for all atoms create bonds between atoms that are close to one another:
- 8 electrons make up the centre atom, which is carbon.
- A duplet is made up of all the hydrogen atoms because hydrogen has a complete outer shell with only 2 electrons.
- The octet of bromine atoms is satisfied because bromine needs 8 electrons in order to form a full outer shell.
- To have a filled valence shell configuration, it shares electrons and satisfied the octet rule.
Check the stability of the Lewis structure as the last stage:
A concept of formal charge can be used to verify the stability of Lewis structures of CH2Br2. It just requires determining the formal charges of the carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and bromine (Br) atoms. The only ultimate stable structure of CH2Br2 is represented by the following Lewis structure below:
CH2Br2 lewis structure formal charge
Each atom’s formal charge is calculated to establish the stability of the Lewis structure. Now let us figure out the formal charge of CH2Br2.
CH2Br2 has a formal charge of 0. To determine an atom’s formal charges, use the following formula:
Formal charge in CH2Br2 = valence electrons in CH2Br2 – Unbonding electrons in CH2Br2 – ½ bonding electrons in CH2Br2.
The following is a formal charge table for CH2Br2:
Atoms involved in CH2Br2 |
Valence Electrons (V.E) |
Unbonding Electrons (N.E) |
Bonding Electrons (B.E) |
Formal charge (F.C) |
Central Atom (C) |
4 | 0 | 8/2 | (4- 0- 8/2) =0 |
Outer Atom (H) |
1 | 0 | 2/2 | (1- 0- 2/2) =0 |
Outer Atom (Br) |
7 | 6 | 2/2 | (7-6-2/2) =0 |
CH2Br2 valence electrons
The s and p orbital consists of outer electrons called valence electrons. Let us determine the valence electron in CH2Br2.
CH2Br2 has 16 total valence electrons. Carbon is the element in group 14 of the periodic table. The periodic table’s Group 1 contains hydrogen. The periodic table’s group 17 element is bromine.
The table regarding valence electron in CH2Br2 is given below:
Atoms involved in CH2Br2 |
Valence Electrons (V.E) |
Electronic configuration of atoms |
Total valence electrons |
Central Atom (C) |
4 | 1s22s22p2 | 4 |
Outer Atom (H) |
1 | 1s1 | 2*1 =2 |
Outer Atom (Br) |
7 | [Ar]3d104s24p5 | 2*7 =14 |
CH2Br2 lewis structure octet rule
The octet rule describes how an atom will naturally seek out, give up, or share electrons to reach 8 electrons. Let us determine whether CH2Br2 follows the octet rule or not.
CH2Br2 satisfies the octet rule. When alone, C contains four valence electrons. As a result, the carbon atom is stable and the octet rule is satisfied.
- For a filled structure, each H has one valence electron and shares it with C.
- The valence shell of each bromine atom contains 7 free electrons, and each bromine atom shares 1 electron with carbon to form a filled configuration.
- In dibromomethane, each atom has an entire octet.
CH2Br2 lewis structure lone pairs
As covalent bonds form, unshared pairs of electrons, also known as non-bonding pairs, do not exchange places with other atoms. Let us find out lone pairs in CH2Br2.
CH2Br2 has no lone electron pairs on its core atom. There is no lone pair for carbon because all 6 electron pairs have already broken apart. For CH2Br2, there are 4 side atoms. There are hence 4 electron bonding pairs.
The structure uses all 20 valence electrons in the CH2Br2 molecule. So only the 2 bromine atoms have 3 lone pairs of electrons attached to them.
CH2Br2 hybridization
Pauling introduced hybridization as one of the key ideas that help to explain how bonds are formed. Let us find out the hybridisation of carbon in CH2Br2.
In the CH2Br2 molecule, the hybridization of the core atom C is Sp3. The steric numbers formula is used to calculate hybridization: The steric number is calculated as the sum of the sigma bonds and the lone pair on the central atom. The steric number for CH2Br2 is 4+0=4.
- Only the hybridization of the main atom is our main concern.
- C possesses 2 unpaired electrons in the ground state.
- Only 2 bonds can be formed.
- All 4 valence electrons become unpaired as a result of electron promotion.
- These 4 electrons are located in several orbitals.
- To create sp3 hybrid orbitals, all 4 orbitals go through hybridization as shown below:
CH2Br2 lewis structure shape
Lewis structure cannot predict a compound’s geometry, so we sought another hypothesis that can do so. Let us check the lewis shape of the CH2Br2.
The molecular shape of the CH2Br2 molecule is tetrahedral. It is because its tetrahedral form is caused by the inclusion of two bromine and two hydrogen atoms. A CH2Br2 form can be ascertained using VSEPR theory. The tetrahedral molecular structure of the dibromomethane molecule causes it to be tilted.
- A=1 (central atom C).
- X= 4 (No. of side atoms attached to the central atom).
- n= lone pair on A
- AX4 is the Generic Formula for the CH2Br2 molecule.
- The result of the generic formula gives tetrahedral geometry with 4 bond pairs and 0 lone pairs of electrons.
- Compounds with no lone pairs have the same geometry and shape.
CH2Br2 lewis structure angle
The angle between the orbitals surrounding the core atom of a molecule or a complex ion that contains bonding electron pairs. Let us find out the angle of CH2Br2.
In CH2Br2, bromine, carbon, and hydrogen have bond angles of 112.5° and 113.4° degrees (H-C-H and Br-C-Br).
Is CH2Br2 solid or liquid?
Solids have a distinctive shape. Liquids lack a distinct shape. Let us check Whether CH2Br2 is solid or liquid.
CH2Br2 is a colourless liquid because of it is obtained naturally in liquid form from the ocean. It is used as a solvent and has a sweet flavour and pleasant aroma. As well as serving as a motor fuel, it is used in chemical synthesis and as a gauge fluid.
Is CH2Br2 soluble in water?
When something entirely dissolves in a liquid, it is said to be soluble in water. Let us see if CH2Br2 is soluble in water.
CH2Br2 is not soluble in water as a solution. Because it is less soluble than water due to its density. It is yet readily soluble in organic solvents. Chloroform and other organic solvents are miscible with each other. The solubility of it in water at a higher temperature like 12.5 g/l at 20°C.
Is CH2Br2 polar or nonpolar?
A molecule is considered polar or non-polar if its Bond dipoles cancel each other out or do not cancel. Let us check whether CH2Br2 is polar or non-polar.
CH2Br2 is a polar molecule. Because it is composed of carbon-hydrogen and carbon-bromine bonds. The polarity can be decided by electronegativity difference. It can be calculated by using Linus Pauling’s electronegativity:
- Carbon has an electronegativity of 2.55. (C).
- Hydrogen is a gas with a 2.2 electronegativity.
- The value of bromine’s electronegativity is 2.96.
- C-H and C-Br had estimated E.N differences of 0.35 and 0.41, respectively.
- Thus the bond dipole moment is not zero, the bonds must be polar.
- Below is an image of a net dipole:
Is CH2Br2 molecular compound?
Molecular compounds are chemical entities that take on specific molecule shapes. Let us check whether CH2Br2 is molecular or not.
A molecular compound is CH2Br2. It is molecular because each atom’s molecular formula is represented by a covalent bond produced by the sharing of electrons. Dibromomethane, which is methane replaced by two bromo groups. It is a bromohydrocarbon and a bromomethane.
The reaction is as follows:
CH2BrCl + HBr → CH2Br2 + HCl
Is CH2Br2 acid or base?
The base is capable of taking on hydrogen ions, while the acid can release proton ions. Let us check whether CH2Br2 is acid or not.
CH2Br2 is an acidic character. This is because the negative charge over C-H will be stabilised by moving the electron density over unoccupied d- orbitals of bromines.
It is possible for acids to donate protons, but they will only do so if the conjugate base that forms when a proton is donated is stable in this location.
CH2Br2 → CH–Br2 + H+
Acid Conjugate Proton
Base
Is CH2Br2 electrolyte?
Fluids include minerals called electrolytes that are electrically charged. Let us check whether CH2Br2 is an electrolyte or not.
CH2Br2 is not an electrolyte. It does not separate into ions in water.
Is CH2Br2 salt?
Salt is a substance that has no net electric charge due to positive and negative ions. Let us find out whether CH2Br2 is a salt or not.
CH2Br2 is not a salt since it forms covalent bonds instead of accumulating positive and negative charges. The difference in electronegativity, which results in two poles, is what gives it its polar nature. These interactions are between ions and dipoles or between dipoles.
Is CH2Br2 ionic or covalent?
The electron share relates to the covalent structure and electron transfer refers to the ionic structure. Let us find out whether Ch2br2 is ionic or covalent.
CH2Br2 is formed as a covalent compound by using brominating methane. A polar configuration results from the electronegativities of the two Br and H atoms not cancelling one other out because they are not linked opposite to one another.
Dibromomethane is a polar covalent molecule because it has a net dipole moment of 1.7 D and a partial positive and negative charge corresponding to an electronegativity.
Is CH2Br2 symmetrical?
When divided, symmetrical patterns have the same appearance on both parts. Let us find out whether CH2Br2 is symmetrical or not.
CH2Br2 is not symmetrical because in it the asymmetrical arrangement of the C-Br bonds around the tetrahedral molecular geometry creates the CH2Br2 molecular shape.
Is CH2Br2 tetrahedral?
A molecule is said to be tetrahedral when its centre atom has four bonds and no lone pairs. Let us check whether CH2Br2 is tetrahedral or not.
CH2Br2 molecule is tetrahedral in geometry. It is because the lone pair of the CH2Br2 molecule does not have an electrical repulsion with the bond pairings. It is the case that lone pairs and bond pairs do not exhibit electronic repulsion according to VSEPR theory.
Conclusion
Dibromomethane(CH2Br2) is used in pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and agrochemical products. Tetrahedral molecular geometry describes the shape of the CH2Br2 molecule. The core atom in CH2Br2 has an sp3 hybridization. A 1.7D electronegativity difference characterises it as a polar covalent molecule.
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