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Sulfur dioxide template
Premium template. Preview and edit it free in MolDraw; downloading and exporting it is part of MolDraw Pro.
SO₂: the two equivalent octet forms ⁻O–S⁺=O ↔ O=S⁺–O⁻, each with a lone pair on sulfur; the key points explain the expanded-octet O=S=O drawing many textbooks use.
What the template shows
- Two equivalent octet forms with S⁺; many textbooks also draw O=S=O
- Resonance contributors
- Octet forms
- Two equivalent forms, S⁺ with a lone pair
- Both S–O bonds are equal (143 pm); the lone pair on S makes the molecule bent (119°).
- Convention: many textbooks also draw a third, expanded-octet form O=S=O (ten electrons on S, no formal charges), reached when an O⁻ lone pair forms a second S=O; modern bonding analysis favours the octet forms with polar S⁺–O⁻ bonds and little use of sulfur d orbitals.
- Either picture gives the same shape and two equivalent S–O bonds.
- Contributors are not in equilibrium: the real species is one hybrid of them · every part of this figure is editable
Drawn with 6 atoms, 3 arrows, 2 shapes – every one editable in MolDraw.
Sources
How to use this template
- Press Edit in MolDraw. The template opens on the canvas of the free MolDraw editor.
- Change anything: move structures, edit atoms and labels, recolour highlights or delete what you do not need.
- Add your own structures, arrows and text next to it, or combine several templates on one page.
- Export the drawing as PNG, SVG or PDF for slides, worksheets, theses and papers.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Sulfur dioxide template free?
You can preview the Sulfur dioxide template here and open and edit it in MolDraw for free. Downloading or exporting it is part of MolDraw Pro, together with the other premium templates.
Can I edit the Sulfur dioxide template?
Yes. It opens as an ordinary MolDraw drawing, so every structure, arrow, label and colour can be changed, and you can add your own content around it.
Is the chemistry checked?
Every structure is checked with RDKit and every curly arrow passes MolDraw’s electron-flow audit. The sources used are listed on this page.
How are resonance structures shown?
Each contributor is drawn separately, joined by double-headed resonance arrows, with curly arrows showing how the electrons move from one contributor to the next.