Answer to Question #154781 in Inorganic Chemistry for mary

Question

What's the formal charge of the central atoms in Carbamylcholine?

Answer 1

Carbamylcholine = $C_6H_{15}N_2O_2.Cl$

The structure of Carbamylcholine (also called Carbachol) is;

Formal charge = [number of valence electrons] – [electrons in lone pairs + 1/2 the number of bonding electrons]

but the above formula can be simplified for easier calculation to;

Formal Charge = [number of valence electrons] – [non-bonded electrons + number of bonds]

-> The first central atom is Nitrogen.

number of valence electrons = 5

number of bonds around Nitrogen = 4

number of non-bonded electrons = 0

Formal Charge = 5 – [4+0] = 1

-> The second central atom is Carbon

number of valence electrons = 4

number of bonds around Carbon = 4

number of non-bonded electrons = 0

Formal Charge = 4 – [4+0] = 0

-> The third central atom is another Carbon

number of valence electrons = 4

number of bonds around Carbon = 4

number of non-bonded electrons = 0

Formal Charge = 4 – [4+0] = 0

-> The fourth central atom is Oxygen

number of valence electrons = 6

number of bonds around Oxygen = 2

number of non-bonded electrons = 4

Formal Charge = 6 – [2+4] = 0

-> The fifth central atom is Carbon

number of valence electrons = 4

number of bonds around Carbon = 4

number of non-bonded electrons = 0

Formal Charge = 4 – [4+0] = 0

-> The sixth central atom is Nitrogen

number of valence electrons = 5

number of bonds around Nitrogen = 3

number of non-bonded electrons = 2

Formal Charge = 5 – [3+2] = 0