Illustrated Glossary of Organic Chemistry
Isoelectronic:
Atoms,
ions
, or molecules which have an equal number of valence shell electrons and the same atom connectivity.
Carbon monoxide (CO) and dinitrogen (N
2
) are isoelectronic. Both have ten
valence shell electrons
.
Ammonia
(
NH
3
) and phosphine (PH
3
) are isoelectronic. The nitrogen and phosphorus atoms of these molecules are isoelectronic.
Related terms:
Lewis structure
,
Kekulé structure
,
formal charge
,
lone pair
,
isomer
,
resonance
Wikipedia entry
Return to glossary index
