
Generally, the lowest energy structure is the one with the smallest formal charges on the atoms and the most distributed charge.Knowledge of the lowest energy structure helps in predicting the major product of a reaction and also describes a lot of phenomena.Formal charges help in the selection of the lowest energy structure from a number of possible Lewis structures for a given species.


While formal charge can indicate a molecule’s preferred structure, the problem becomes more complicated when numerous equally preferred structures exist. The one with the least/lowest formal charges is the ideal structure. An atom in a molecule should have a formal charge of zero to have the lowest energy and hence the most stable state. Knowing the formal charge on a particular atom in a structure is an important part of keeping track of the electrons and is important for establishing and predicting the reactivity.
CALCULATING FORMAL CHARGE OF ELEMENTS IN A MOLECULE HOW TO
Prior to discussing how to calculate formal charge(FC), we must understand that it is n essential, basic concept to master in order to better understand molecular structures and reactionsīasically, we can define formal charge as the hypothetical measure of charge assigned to an atom in a molecule, assuming that electrons in all chemical bonds are shared equally between atoms, regardless of relative electronegativity.
