Best Overview: Is CS2 Polar or Nonpolar? - Science Education and Tutorials

Sulfur chemical compounds are very different in nature and properties. Carbon disulfide has the chemical formula CS2. Carbon and sulfur atoms belong to the non-metal family group in the periodic table and possess a high electronegativity value. Students used to ask “Is CS2 polar or nonpolar?”, “CS2 Lewis Structure”, “CS2 molecular geometry”, “CS2 bond angle”, and “CS2 polarity”. In this blog post, we are going to discuss the polarity of CS2 in a detailed manner.

CS2 is commonly appearing at ordinary temperatures and pressures, it exists as a liquid with a colorless and volatile nature. CS2 contains one carbon and two sulfur atoms. Carbon disulfide (CS2) is corrosive to biological tissue and metals, and it can also cause breathing shortness on prolonged exposure it and induces chest pain. The carbon atom stays the center of the molecule and the remaining two sulfur atoms in the terminal of the molecule. “Is CS2 polar or nonpolar?”, to answer this question, we need a detailed analysis of the polarity of the CS2 molecule.

Because of the linear structural form of carbon disulfide(CS2). Carbon has atomic number 6 in the modern periodic table and four outermost valence shell electrons. It comes under the carbon family group. Similarly, Sulfur has atomic numbers 16 and six outermost valence shell electrons. Total electron counting of sulfur, only two electrons required two complete Nobel element configuration octet rule.

CS2 molecule is formed by elements of the carbon and oxygen family group in the periodic table. When CS2 is exposed to air, it volatiles into the air and unpleasant odor. Carbon disulfide (CS2) undergoes combustion reactions, forms carbon dioxide(CO2) and sulfur dioxide(SO2).

Is CS2 polar or nonpolar, then? CS2 (Carbon disulfide) is nonpolar due to its linear geometrical shape caused by the presence of no lone pair on the carbon atom. Second, the difference in electronegativity between carbon and sulfur atoms causes the C-S bonds to become polar, causing the entire molecule to become nonpolar due to two C-S bond polarity cancels with each other, resulting in a net dipole moment of the CS2 molecule is 0 D.

Table of Contents

Preparation of CS2

Carbon disulfide(CS2) is a colorless liquid with a strong intense unpleasant odor. It is manufactured primarily through the high temperature heating absence of air. It is the carbonization reaction, sulfur in the solid phase, and coke in the solid phase. Initially, sulfur reacted with carbon (coke) formed carbon disulfide(CS2). This reaction is taken place at a high temperature.

The chemical equation of sulfur and carbon reaction is shown below.

C + 2S → CS2
Preparation of carbon disulfide(CS2)

CS2 Molar Mass Calculation

CS2 has a molecular mass of 76.13 g/mol, which may be computed as follows.

Mol mass of CS2 = 2 * 32 (atomic mass of S) + 1* 12 (atomic mass of C) = 76.13g·mol−1.
CS2 molar mass calculation

The chemical composition of the carbon disulfide molecule is 2 sulfur atoms and 1 carbon atom in the middle.

CS2 Lewis Structure: Is CS2 polar or nonpolar?

The core atom is carbon, which is flanked by two sulfur atoms. Sulfur contains six outermost valence electrons, which means it contains six electrons in its outermost shell, whereas carbon has four outermost electrons. The sulfur atom is required two electrons to complete the octet of sulfur atoms. If you want to know about the octet rule, please see in our previous post.

As a result of this, both two sulfur atoms form covalent bonds with the carbon atom, leaving the central carbon atom with no lone pairs. The bond pairs of C-S are repelled by the no lone pairs on the carbon. According to VSEPR theory, no electronic repulsion causes the CS2 molecule’s shape to linear geometrical, similar to that of the NO2+ (nitronium ion).

No lone pair of carbon forces both two C-S bonds, resulting in the linear geometrical form of the CS2 molecule. Because they generate no electrical repulsion among the bond pairs of CS2 molecule, this makes linear shapes of the CS2 molecule.

Electronegative difference calculation CS2:

When it comes to the electronegativity value of the CS2 molecule, carbon has an electronegativity of 2.55, while sulfur has an electronegativity of 2.58. The electronegativity difference can be calculated by the following method.

Electronegativity value of carbon = 2.55
Electronegativity value of sulfur = 2.58
Difference of electronegativity value between sulfur and carbon = 2.58 – 2.55=0.03
Electronegativity difference calculation of CS2 molecule

The C-S bond of the CS2 molecule becomes nonpolar in nature due to this difference in electronegativity value. The difference between electronegativity values of the C-S bond is less than 0.5. The power with which an atom can attract bound electron pairs towards its side is known as the electronegativity of the atom.

As a result of this, the dipole moment of the C-S bond is zero, and the residual dipoles of both S-Cl bonds are negated due to the linear structure. The total dipole moment of the CS2 molecule is calculated to be 0 D. carbon atoms receive a partial positive charge on it, while sulfur atoms receive a partial negative charge on it.

CS2 molecule’s electron dot structure is also known as CS2 Lewis structure. It determines the number of outermost valence electrons and the electrons involved in the formation of the CS2 molecule’s bonds. When discussing the Lewis structure of the CS2 molecule, it is necessary to understand the outermost valence electrons of CS2.

Carbon is the middle element of the molecule, with 4 electrons in its outermost valence electron shell, while the sulfur atom is the outermost valence electron shell, with 6 electrons and two electrons missing in the shell to complete its octet.

As a result of this above explanation, the CS2 molecule contains a total of 16 valence electrons. The two sulfur atoms establish covalent connections with the central carbon atom, leaving the carbon atom with no lone pairs on it.

No lone pairs of carbon atom cause repulsion with C-S bond pairs, causing the S-Cl bonds to the linear shape of the molecules to form like that of the NO2+ (nitronium ion) molecule. The S-C-S bond has a bond angle of roughly 180 degrees. C-S bond has a bond length of 155 pm (picometer).

To sketch the CS2 Lewis structure by following these instructions:

Step-1: Determine the total number of outermost valence shell electrons in the CS2 molecule. The first step is to figure out how many outermost valence shell electrons there are in the CS2 Lewis structure. A valence electron is one of an atom’s outermost shell electrons. In the CS2 Lewis diagram, it is represented by dots. The central carbon atom of the CS2 molecule can be represented as follows

Look for the periodic group of each atom in CS2 to determine its valence electron. Carbon and sulfur are both members of the carbon and oxygen family, which is the 14th and 16th groups in the periodic table respectively. Carbon and sulfur have four and six valence electrons in their outermost shell respectively.

Because carbon and sulfur belong to the carbon and oxygen family group in the periodic table, their valence electrons are four and six respectively.

Total outermost valence shell electron of the sulfur atom in CS2 = 6
Total outermost valence shell electron of carbon atom in CS2= 4
The CS2 molecule has one central carbon atom and two sulfur atoms. Then the total outermost valence shell electrons can be calculated as follows
∴ Total outermost valence shell electrons available for CS2 Lewis structure( dot structure) = 4 + 6*2 = 16 valence electrons in CS2
calculation of total valence electron of CS2 molecule

Step-2: Locate the atom with the least electronegative charge and place it in the center of the CS2 molecular geometry. In this phase, we’ll select the least electronegative atom in the CS2 molecule to place in the Lewis structure diagram’s center. In the periodic table, the electronegativity value increases in order from left to right and decreases in order from top to bottom in periodic groups.

As a result, the sulfur atom is the second atom in the oxygen family group in the periodic table. Sulfur comes second in the oxygen family group. A carbon atom has a lower electronegative value than a sulfur atom. Furthermore, because sulfur is the most electronegative element in the CS2 molecule, it can never be the central atom in a CS2 Lewis structure diagram. As a result of this, place carbon at the center of the CS2 Lewis structure, with sulfur uniformly at two terminals of linear shape structure.

Step-3: Use two double bonds (C-S) to connect the outside and core atoms in the CS2 molecule. Connect all outside atoms (sulfur) to the core central atom (carbon) with two double bonds in this stage.

Count how many outermost valence shell electrons we’ve used so far in the CS2 structure. Because each carbon atom is connected to a sulfur atom by two double (C-S) bonds, each connection contains two electrons. Those are called bond pairs in the CS2 molecule.

So, from the total of 16 valence electrons available for the CS2 Lewis structure, we employed 8 electrons for two double (C-S) bonds in the CS2 molecule. There are still 8 valence electrons left in the CS2 molecule. Where do we need to place them in CS2 molecular geometry?

Step-4: Starting with the outer two sulfur atoms in the CS2 molecule, place the remaining valence electrons. We always start inserting valence electrons from the exterior sulfur atoms first in the CS2 Lewis structure diagram. As a result, first, wrap around the leftover valence electrons on each sulfur atom.

To complete its octet, sulfur requires 8 electrons in its outermost valence shell. With the help of a double bond, each sulfur already shares two electrons(a total of four electrons). Put 4 electrons around each sulfur atom and you’re done with the sulfur in the CS2 molecule.

In the CS2 molecule structure above, we’ve put 8 electrons around the sulfur atoms, represented by a dot. As all sulfur atoms have 8 electrons in their outermost valence shell, each sulfur atom comfortably completes its octet stability in the CS2 molecule.

Using the CS2 Lewis structure, count how many outermost valence shell electrons have been consumed so far. In the CS2 molecular structure, 16 electrons are represented as CS2 dot structure, whereas two double bonds each contain 4 electrons. As an outcome of the calculation, the outermost valence shell electrons of CS2 are 8 + 8 = 16.

So far, we’ve used 16 of the total 16 outermost valence shell electrons available for the CS2 Lewis structure. There is no remaining valence electron to place on the central atom of the CS2 molecule.

Step-5: Complete central carbon atom octet and use covalent bond if necessary. In the CS2 Lewis structure, carbon is the central atom and it is connected with two double bonds (C-S) to the sulfur atoms. It means it already sharing 8 electrons with the help of 2 double bonds.

So, sulfur is obeying the rule of the octet as 8 electrons around it. Carbon forms a double bond with sulfur atoms. Carbon achieved its octet stabilization due to two double bonds.

What are CS2 electron and molecular geometry?

CS2 has a linear shape molecular geometry and nitronium ion like electron geometry, according to the VSEPR theory. Because the core central atom, carbon, has two double C-S bonds with the surrounding two sulfur atoms. In the same plane, the S-C-S bond forms a 180-degree angle. Because two sulfur atoms are in the same plane, they form a linear molecular shape.

Above that plane, there are no lone pairs in the central carbon atom. It maintains the linear-like form after connecting the two bond pairs to the linear molecular form. The two bond pairs are located just opposite the terminal of linear molecular geometry. The two bond pairs of the electron are just above the sigma bond with linear geometry. There is two pi bond in the CS2 molecule.

Because of no lone pairs of electrons in the CS2 molecule, it gives linear electron geometry. But the CS2 molecular geometry is a linear form in nature. It is the symmetrical geometry of the CS2 molecule. That makes, CS2 molecule is nonpolar.

How to find CS2 molecular geometry

Determine the number of lone pairs on the CS2 Lewis structure’s core carbon atom.
We need to figure out how many lone pairs there are on the central carbon atom of the CS2 Lewis structure because the lone pairs on carbon are primarily responsible for the CS2 molecule geometry distortion.

Use the formula below to find the lone pair on the CS2 molecule’s center carbon atom.
L.P(C) = V.E(C) – N.A(C-S)/2

Lone pair on the central carbon atom = L.P(C)
The core central carbon atom’s valence electron = V.E(C)
Number of C-S bonds = N.A (C-S)
calculation for carbon atom lone pair in CS2 molecule

In the case of CS2, the center atom, carbon, has 4 outermost valence shell electrons and two sulfur atoms (4 connections in CS2 molecule) connected to it.

As a result of this, L.P(S) = (4 – 4)/2=0

The lone pair on the central carbon atom of the CS2 electron geometry structure is equal to zero. It means, the central carbon atom contains no lone pairs.

Determine the number of CS2 molecular hybridizations.
How to find the hybridization of the CS2 molecule?. Now we need to figure out what CS2’s molecular hybridization number is.

The formula of CS2 molecular hybridization is as follows:
No. Hyb of CS2 = N.A(C-S) + L.P(C)
No. Hy of CS2= the number of hybridizations of CS2
Number of C-S bonds = N.A (C-S)
Lone pair on the central carbon atom = L.P(C)
Calculation for hybridization number for CS2 molecule

Carbon, then, is a central atom with two sulfur atoms linked to it and no lone pairs in the CS2 molecule. Then the number of hybridization of CS2 (No. Hyb) can be calculated as follows

No. Hyb of CS2 = 2+0=2

The number of hybridization for CS2 molecule is two. one S orbital, and one p orbitals combine together to form the sp hybridization.

3. Use VSEPR theory to determine CS2 molecular geometry shape

When the VSEPR theory is utilized to calculate the shape of the CS2 molecule, the AXN approach is typically used.

The AXN notation is as follows:
The center carbon atom in the CS2 molecule is denoted by the letter A.
The bound pairs (C-S) of electrons to the core atom are represented by X.
The lone pairs of electrons on the center carbon atom are denoted by the letter N.
Notation for CS2 molecular geometry

We know carbon is the center atom with two double bounds (C-S) pairs of electrons and no lone pairs. because of the CS2 Lewis structure. CS2 has the general molecular geometry formula AX2.

If the molecule has an AX2 generic formula, the molecular geometry will be linear form and the electron geometry will be linear, according to the VSEPR theory.

Name of Molecule	Carbon disulfide
Chemical molecular formula	CS2
Molecular geometry of CS2	linear
Electron geometry of CS2	linear
Hybridization of CS2	SP
Bond angle (S-C-S)	180º degree
Total Valence electron for CS2	16
The formal charge of CS2 on carbon	0

How to calculate the formal charge in CS2 Lewis Structure?

The formal charge on the carbon central atom of the CS2 molecule often represents the actual charge on that carbon central atom. The formal charge will be found on the central carbon atom of the CS2 Lewis dot structure in the following calculation.

To calculate the formal charge on the central carbon atom of CS2 molecule by using the following formula:
The formal charge on the carbon atom of CS2 molecule= (V. E(C)– L.E(C) – 1/2(B.E))
V.E (C) = Valence electron in carbon atom of CS2 molecule
L.E(C) = Lone pairs of an electron in the central atom of the CS2 molecule.
B.E = Bond pair electron in C atom of CS2 molecule
calculation of formal charge on carbon atom in CS2 molecule

We have 4 valence electrons, 0 lone pair electrons, and eight bonding electrons in the carbon central atom (two double bonds attached to sulfur) of the CS2 molecule. Now put these value of the carbon atom in the above formula

Formal charge on carbon atom of CS2 molecule = (4- 0-(8/2)) =0

The formal charge on central carbon atom of CS2 Lewis structure is zero.

Lewis structure of some other related post in this blog. See more detail by clicking on it, H2O, BeCl2, SF4, NH3, XeF4, BF3, BrF3, BrF5, SO3, SCl2, PCl3, H2S, NO2+, HBr, and CH2Cl2 molecules.

The dipole moment of CS2

The dipole moment of the CS2 molecule can assist us in determining the polarity’s strength. The polarity of any molecule is proportional to its dipole moment. Because the form of CS2 is symmetric. The dipole moment of CS2 does cancel each other as a result of this.

The dipole moment of CS2 can be calculated as follows
D(C-S) = Q(C-S) * R(C-S)
D(C-S) = Dipole moment of C-S bond in CS2 molecule
Q(C-S) = Charge distribution in C and S atom of CS2 molecule
R(C-S)= Bond length of C-S bond in CS2 molecule
Dipole moment calculation of CS2 molecule

Net dipole moment of CS2 molecule is 0 D.

Why is CS2 nonpolar molecule?

Due to the existence of no lone pairs on the carbon atom, the carbon disulfide (CS2) molecule has a linear geometrical form. According to the VSEPR hypothesis, lone pairs and bond pairs not repel each other, causing the C-S bonds to move the linear form molecular structure, resulting in a linear shape molecule.

The residual dipole moment of S-Cl bonds does cancel out as it does in symmetric CS2 molecules.CS2 has a dipole moment of 0 D across the entire molecule. The formation of a nonpolar molecule is caused by the geometrical structure and the difference in electronegativity value of atoms in the CS2 molecule.

Because of the symmetric shape of the CS2 molecule, the charge is dispersed uniformly among the carbon and sulfur atoms, resulting in the formation of positive and negative poles across the CS2 molecule.

Properties of CS2 molecule

The properties of CS2 molecule are listed below

It exists in the form of a colorless liquid.
It smells as delicious as ether in its purest form. However, pollutants are added to it commercially, resulting in an unpleasant odor.
It has a melting point of 111.61 degrees Celsius (168.90 degrees Fahrenheit) and a boiling temperature of 46.24 degrees Celsius (115.23 degrees Fahrenheit).
This is a sulfur-containing organosulfur chemical.
At a temperature of 20 degrees Celsius. It has a solubility of 2.17 g/L in water.
This chemical has a vapor pressure of 48.1 kPa at 25 degrees Celsius.
It is flammable, which means it will evaporate at room temperature.

Uses of CS2 molecule

The uses of CS2 molecule are listed below

This chemical is commonly utilized in the production of perfumes and other aroma items.
It’s also used to make rayon and rubber in the textile industry.
This liquid can also be found in insecticides used in agricultural fields.
In organic chemistry, carbon disulfide is regarded as a building block.
It’s employed in a variety of solvent extraction techniques in lower amounts.

Conclusion

Carbon disulfide(CS2) is a linear molecule made up of one carbon atom and two sulfur atoms on each side of the carbon atom with two double bonds. Although the electronegativity of Carbon(2.55) and Sulfur(2.58) differs slightly, making the C-S bonds are slightly polar, the molecule is nonpolar due to the symmetric linear form of the CS2 molecule. Both C-S bonds have equal and opposite dipoles that cancel each other out, making the CS2 molecule non-polar.

The formal charge on the central carbon atom of the CS2 molecule is zero. The molecular hybridization of CS2 is SP. The bond angle of S-C-S of CS2 molecule is 180 degrees. The bond length of the CS2 molecule is 155 pm.

If you are having any queries and doubts about the CS2 molecule’s polarity, please leave a comment. we will get back to you as soon as possible.