Question

What is the Lewis structure of HCN?

Answer 1

Hint: The chemical liquid hydrogen cyanide is colourless, flammable, and toxic. HCN, which is described by the chemical formula, is one of those molecules with a unique Lewis structure. Electroplating, refining, and as a base for other substances all use this liquid.

Complete answer:
It is essential to know the total number of valence electrons in any molecule before drawing the Lewis dot structure. Let's look at the valence electrons of individual atoms of Hydrogen Cyanide and learn about the valence electrons in HCN.
Hydrogen, Carbon, and Nitrogen are the three elements that make up this molecule. As an exception to the octet law, hydrogen has one valence electron and only needs one more electron to complete the valence shell.
As a result, Hydrogen only has one valence electron.
Carbon, on the other hand, has four valence electrons, while Nitrogen has five.
The total number of valence electrons in HCN is equal to the sum of the number of valence electrons in Hydrogen plus the number of valence electrons in Carbon Nitrogen has ten valence electrons, so Hydrogen Cyanide, HCN, has ten valence electrons.
You should create a Lewis dot structure of HCN until you have the complete number of valence electrons. This structure aids in comprehending the valence electron configuration around the atoms in the molecule. It also helps to comprehend the bonds formed in the molecule as well as the electrons that are not involved in any bond forming. We'll start by determining the central atom in order to construct the Lewis Structure of HCN. Place the remaining atoms in the structure after that.
Carbon would assume the centre position in this molecule since it is the least electronegative atom. Place the Hydrogen and Nitrogen atoms on the Carbon's two terminal sides as follows:
Start positioning the valence electrons around individual atoms after you've grouped the atoms. Including Hydrogen, Carbon, and Nitrogen, each atom would have one electron, four electrons, and five electrons, respectively: H-CN
If you look closely at the composition, you'll see that Hydrogen will share one electron with the Carbon atom and become stable. As a result, two electrons would be shared by both Carbon and Hydrogen, resulting in a single bond.

Note:
By forming a single bond with Hydrogen and a triple bond with the Nitrogen atom, Carbon has a full octet. Nitrogen, too, has a full octet since it only needed three electrons to complete the octet, which it obtained by sharing electrons with Carbon. The outer valence shell of hydrogen has two electrons. Nonbonding electrons make up the other two electrons.