According to the Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion (VSEPR) theory and the concept of hybridisation, the geometry of a molecule is determined by the number of bonding and lone pairs around the central atom:
- N2O (Nitrous Oxide): The central nitrogen atom in N2O (N≡NightarrowO) is bonded to two atoms and possesses no lone pairs. This results in sp hybridisation and a linear structure with a bond angle of 180°, similar to other AB2 type molecules like BeCl2 .
- NO2 (Nitrogen Dioxide): This is an odd-electron molecule where nitrogen has one lone electron (or effectively one lone pair). This results in a bent or angular geometry due to electron-pair repulsion .
- O3 (Ozone): The central oxygen atom is bonded to two other oxygen atoms and has one lone pair. According to VSEPR theory (AB2E type), it adopts a bent geometry with an approximate bond angle of 117° .
- HOCl (Hypochlorous Acid): In this molecule, the central oxygen atom is bonded to H and Cl and has two lone pairs (AB2E2 type). Like water, this results in a bent (V-shaped) geometry .
Therefore, only N2O exhibits a linear structure.