Lewis structure of H2SO4

Formal Charge?
Which Lewis structure is correct?
Let’s calculate the formal charge(s) in the two Lewis structures

Atom V L B f Atom V L B f
H 1 0 2 0 H 1 0 2 0
H 1 0 2 0 H 1 0 2 0
O 6 4 4 0 O 6 4 4 0
O 6 4 4 0 O 6 4 4 0
O 6 6 2 -1 O 6 4 4 0
O 6 6 2 -1 O 6 4 4 0
S 6 0 8 +2 S 6 0 12 0
Total formal charge = 0
Total formal charge = 0
 This is a ball and stick 3d- image of
H2SO4
Yellow ball is sulphur
Red balls are oxygen
Purple balls are hydrogen

This shows that formal charges do not affect the shape of the molecule.
S bonded to the 4O with no lone pair will have tetrahedral shape
O bonded to S and H with 2 lone pair will have bent shape
 Side note
For a neutral molecule, the overall formal charge should be = 0.
For a cation, this should be positive and of the same value as the its charge.
For an anion, this should be negative and of the same value as its charge.
Formal charge of ion can be used to predict which atom carries the charge.

Atom V L B f Atom V L B f
O 6 4 2 -1 O 6 6 2 -1
O 6 4 2 -1 O 6 6 2 -1
O 6 6 2 -1 O 6 4 4 0
O 6 6 2 -1 O 6 6 2 0
S 6 0 8 +2 S 6 0 12 0
Total formal charge = -2 Total formal charge = -2
 Violation of the Octet rule!
In drawing the Lewis structures of BF3 and H2SO4 (with double bond) you would have noticed that B have 6
electrons and S had 12 electrons. These two compounds have violated the octet rule.

The Octet Rule is violated in these three scenarios:

When there are an odd number of valence electrons e.g. NO.
When there are too few valence electrons e.g. BF3 resulting in an incomplete octet.
When there are too many valence electrons e.g. (SO4)2- resulting in an expanded octet.

These theories are backed with experimental data.