What is the formal charge of SO3
The formal charge of SO3 (sulfur trioxide) can be calculated as follows:
Formal charge = Valence electrons - (Number of lone pair electrons + 0.5 * Number of bonding electrons)
Sulfur (S) has 6 valence electrons, and each oxygen (O) atom has 6 valence electrons. In SO3, there are 3 oxygen atoms bonded to the sulfur atom, and each oxygen forms a double bond with sulfur, resulting in a total of 3 double bonds (6 bonding electrons per bond).
Number of valence electrons in sulfur = 6
Number of bonding electrons = 3 * 6 = 18
Total valence electrons in SO3 = 6 + 3 * 6 = 24
Formal charge = 6 - (0 + 0.5 * 18) = 6 - 9 = -3
Therefore, the formal charge of SO3 is -3.