Editing Lewis structure (section)

== Usage and limitations ==
Despite their simplicity and development in the early twentieth century, when understanding of chemical bonding was still rudimentary, Lewis structures capture many of the key features of the electronic structure of a range of molecular systems, including those of relevance to chemical reactivity. Thus, they continue to enjoy widespread use by chemists and chemistry educators. This is especially true in the field of [[organic chemistry]], where the traditional valence-bond model of bonding still dominates, and mechanisms are often understood in terms of [[Arrow pushing|curve-arrow notation]] superimposed upon [[Skeletal formula|skeletal formulae]], which are shorthand versions of Lewis structures. Due to the greater variety of bonding schemes encountered in [[Inorganic chemistry|inorganic]] and [[organometallic chemistry]], many of the molecules encountered require the use of fully delocalized [[Molecular orbital|molecular orbitals]] to adequately describe their bonding, making Lewis structures comparatively less important (although they are still common).

There are simple and archetypal molecular systems for which a Lewis description, at least in unmodified form, is misleading or inaccurate. Notably, the naive drawing of Lewis structures for molecules known experimentally to contain unpaired electrons (e.g., O<sub>2</sub>, NO, and ClO<sub>2</sub>) leads to incorrect inferences of bond orders, bond lengths, and/or magnetic properties. A simple Lewis model also does not account for the phenomenon of [[aromaticity]]. For instance, Lewis structures do not offer an explanation for why cyclic C<sub>6</sub>H<sub>6</sub> (benzene) experiences special stabilization beyond normal delocalization effects, while C<sub>4</sub>H<sub>4</sub> (cyclobutadiene) actually experiences a special ''destabilization''.{{cn|date=December 2023}}  [[Molecular orbital theory]] provides the most straightforward explanation for these phenomena.{{original research inline|date=December 2023}}