As per Lewis structure, can oxygen molecules in ozone be interconnected with one another through covalent single bonds?

Question

Ozone has three oxygen molecules. Since all three are the same atom, there is no difference in electronegativity. As per theory, formation of a polar covalent bond is not possible but there are two resonance equivalent structures with one single and one covalent bond.

As I searched in the net, those are the only two structures repeated often. Also whenever there are more than two Lewis structures, the structure which is valid as per VSEPR theory will be taken are my understanding. So, technically even though the three interconnected single bonds are valid as in this diagram,, why doesn't the structure hold good? Is it because there are more number of close lone pair of electrons which will cause repulsion as per VSEPR theory? But, still how does the polar bond form when there is no difference in electronegativity between the oxygen atoms? I am asking this because, I am not able to get validate this question with third structure in the google search.

I am adding one more detail which I found regarding this, called 'formal charge':

The formal charge of an atom in a molecule is the hypothetical charge the atom would have if we could redistribute the electrons in the bonds evenly between the atoms. Another way of saying this is that formal charge results when we take the number of valence electrons of a neutral atom, subtract the nonbonding electrons, and then subtract the number of bonds connected to that atom in the Lewis structure.

Thus, we calculate formal charge as follows: formal charge = # valence shell electrons (free atom) − lone pair electrons −1/2*(  bonding electrons)

I calculated the formal charge for O1, O2, O3 and all three resulted in +1. Sum of the formal charges didn't give net charge of zero. I guess, that could be one of the explanations. If anyone can confirm, it will be helpful. I will meanwhile also search. Thanks for the help!

Answer 1

Because reality, not theory, dominates chemistry

Ozone, by the way, has three oxygen atoms not molecules.

But while many theoretical structures are possible and look OK in different bonding theories, that isn't how chemists work out the real structure. Most bonding theories are too weak to make accurate structural predictions for many "difficult" structures.

When it was realised that benzene, for example, was a ring some proposed it was essentially the same as cyclohexatriene, with alternating double and single bonds. But observations of the crystal structure showed that, despite simple bonding theories ideas, the bond lengths were all equal. Better theories were developed to explain the actual structure.

Ozone, in some theories, could be a 3 membered ring or, indeed, a variety of other structures. But it isn't. Microwave spectroscopy show it to be a bent molecule as does the fact is has a dipole moment. That's what is is, theory be damned. The central angle is about 116° and the central oxygen has a net positive charge withe the terminal oxygens having net negative charges but bond lengths between those of a single and double bond.

There are theories that can account for this, but the predictions of simpler theories are useless. What we observe the structure to be is far more important than theory.