The Lewis dot structure for carbon tetrafluoride (CF4) illustrates how the valence electrons are shared between the central carbon atom and the four fluorine atoms. In this molecule, carbon is the central atom surrounded by four fluorine atoms, each of which forms a single bond with carbon.
Here’s how to draw the Lewis dot structure for CF4:
- Count the total number of valence electrons: Carbon (C) has 4 valence electrons and each fluorine (F) has 7 valence electrons. Therefore, the total is 4 + (4 × 7) = 32 valence electrons.
- Place the carbon atom in the center as it is less electronegative than fluorine.
- Connect each fluorine atom to the carbon atom using single bonds. Each bond uses 2 electrons, so 4 bonds will use 8 electrons.
- After creating the bonds, distribute the remaining valence electrons to the fluorine atoms to complete their octets. Each fluorine needs 8 electrons to reach a stable configuration, and since each F is already sharing 2 electrons with C, we need to add 6 more electrons (3 lone pairs) to each fluorine.
The final structure will have the carbon atom in the center with four single bonds connecting to each fluorine, and each fluorine will have three lone pairs of electrons. This arrangement completes the octet for all the atoms involved.
Here’s a simple representation of the Lewis dot structure:
F:
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F - C - F
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F:
This shows that carbon shares its electrons with four fluorine atoms, resulting in a stable CF4 molecule.