How many π bonds are there in CO2?

1 Answer

CO2 has 2 pi bonds.

First, start with the molecule's Lewis structure, which allows you to determine the hybridization of each atom.

![http://nonsibihighschool.org/acchonch11.php](useruploads.socratic.org)

We can see that C has two regions of electron density around it, which means it has a steric number equal to 2. This implies that it is sp hybridized, therefore has 2 unhybridized p-orbitals with which it can form pi bonds with the oxygen atoms.

On the other hand, each O atom has three regions of electron density around it, which means it is sp2 hybridized. This allows each O atoms to have 1 unhybridized p-orbital with which to form a pi bond.

The bonding in the CO2 molecule looks like this:

![http://chemistry.tutorvista.com/inorganic-chemistry/co2http://-molecular-geometry.html](https://useruploads.socratic.org/g0jOaQPRhGO5s9GrhB5g_hybridization-of--co2.png)

C's sp hybridized orbitals are shown in yellow and its two unhybridized p-orbitals are shown in blue. O's sp2 hybridized orbitals are shown in green, while its remaining unhybridized p-orbital is shown in blue.

So, C uses its two sp hybridized orbitals to form sigma bonds with the two O atoms (each O atom uses an sp2 orbital for this).

Let's say C has its pz and px orbitals left unhybridized. Its px orbital will form a pi bond with the O atom that has its px orbital unhybridized, while its pz orbital will for a pi bond with the other O atom's pz orbital.

Therefore, CO2 has 2 pi bonds and 2 sigma bonds.

A faster way to determine how many pi bonds the molecule has is to know that a double bond is comprised of 1 sigma and 1 pi bond. Since CO2 has 2 double bonds, it will have 2 pi bonds.