Answer
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Work Step by Step
The carbon monoxide (CO) molecule has a less polar bond than expected based on the electronegativity difference between carbon and oxygen.
The electronegativity difference between carbon (2.55) and oxygen (3.44) is 0.89, which would suggest a relatively polar bond. However, the actual polarity of the CO bond is less than expected.
This can be explained using formal charge arguments:
Formal charge (C) = 4 (valence electrons) - 2 (nonbonding electrons) - (1/2) × 2 (bonding electrons)
Formal charge (C) = 0
Formal charge (O) = 6 (valence electrons) - 4 (nonbonding electrons) - (1/2) × 2 (bonding electrons)
Formal charge (O) = 0
The formal charges on both the carbon and oxygen atoms are zero, indicating that the electrons are equally shared between the atoms. This results in a less polar bond compared to what would be expected based solely on the electronegativity difference.
The equal sharing of electrons and the resulting zero formal charges on both atoms contribute to the reduced polarity of the CO bond, making it less polar than anticipated based on the electronegativity difference.
