Lewis Structures Are Models for Predicting Molecular Structure, Not Electronic Structure

This article argues against a close relationship between Lewis dot structures and electron structure obtained from quantum mechanical calculations. Lewis structures are a powerful tool for structure prediction, though they are classical models of bonding and do not predict electronic structure. The "best" Lewis structures are those that, when combined with the VSEPR model, allow the accurate prediction of molecular properties, such as polarity, bond length, bond angle, and bond strength. These structures are achieved by minimizing formal charges within the molecule, even if it requires an expanded octet on atoms beyond the second period. Lewis structures that show an expanded octet do not imply full d-orbital involvement in the bonding. They suggest that the presence of low-lying d-orbitals is important in producing observed molecular structures.Based on this work, the presence of electron density, not a large separation in charge, is responsible for the short bond lengths and large angles in species containing nonmetal atoms from beyond the second period. This result contradicts results obtained from natural population analysis, a method that attempts to derive Lewis structures from molecular orbital calculations.