Exception 1: Species with Odd Numbers of Electrons
The first exception to the Octet Rule is when there are an odd number of valence electrons. An example of this would be the nitrogen (II) oxide molecule ((NO)). Nitrogen atom has 5 valence electrons while the oxygen atom has 6 electrons. The total would be 11 valence electrons to be used. The Octet Rule for this molecule is fulfilled in the above example, however that is with 10 valence electrons. The last one does not know where to go. The lone electron is called an unpaired electron. But where should the unpaired electron go? The unpaired electron is usually placed in the Lewis Dot Structure so that each element in the structure will have the lowest formal charge possible. The formal charge is the perceived charge on an individual atom in a molecule when atoms do not contribute equal numbers of electrons to the bonds they participate in. The formula to find a formal charge is:
Formal Charge= [# of valence e- the atom would have on its own] – [# of lone pair electrons on that atom] – [# of bonds that atom participates in]
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No formal charge at all is the most ideal situation. An example of a stable molecule with an odd number of valence electrons would be nitrogen monoxide. Nitrogen monoxide has 11 valence electrons (Figure 1). If you need more information about formal charges, see Lewis Structures. If we were to consider the nitrogen monoxide cation ((NO^+) with ten valence electrons, then the following Lewis structure would be constructed:
Nitrogen normally has five valence electrons. In Figure 1, it has two lone pair electrons and it participates in two bonds (a double bond) with oxygen. This results in nitrogen having a formal charge of +1. Oxygen normally has six valence electrons. In Figure 1, oxygen has four lone pair electrons and it participates in two bonds with nitrogen. Oxygen therefore has a formal charge of 0. The overall molecule here has a formal charge of +1 (+1 for nitrogen, 0 for oxygen. +1 + 0 = +1). However, if we add the eleventh electron to nitrogen (because we want the molecule to have the lowest total formal charge), it will bring both the nitrogen and the molecule’s overall charges to zero, the most ideal formal charge situation. That is exactly what is done to get the correct Lewis structure for nitrogen monoxide:
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