how can something like aluminum sulphide form illustrate showing electron movement

1 answer

The formation of aluminum sulphide can be illustrated by showing the movement of electrons in the reaction. This chemical reaction involves the transfer of electrons between atoms of aluminum and sulfur.

The formation of aluminum sulphide can be written as:

2 Al + 3 S → Al2S3

In this reaction, each aluminum atom loses three electrons to form an Al3+ ion, while each sulfur atom gains two electrons to form an S2- ion. The transfer of electrons is shown below:

Al → Al3+ + 3 e-

S + 2 e- → S2-

The Al3+ and S2- ions then combine to form solid Al2S3.

The movement of electrons can also be shown using Lewis structures. The Lewis structure of aluminum shows three valence electrons, which are represented by dots surrounding the symbol. The Lewis structure of sulfur shows six valence electrons.

To form aluminum sulphide, two aluminum atoms transfer three electrons each to three sulfur atoms, forming Al2S3. The Lewis structure of Al2S3 shows each sulfur atom surrounded by eight electrons, while the aluminum atoms are surrounded by six electrons.

This transfer of electrons from aluminum to sulfur results in the formation of a stable compound with a full outer electron shell. This illustrates the movement of electrons in a chemical reaction and shows how atoms achieve stability by sharing or transferring electrons.