(CH3)3NO Lewis Structure

The relatively simple molecule trimethylamine N-oxide, (CH3)3NO is an oxide of trimethyl ammonium ion. It acts as a metabolite and osmolyte. It is also used as a metabolite in E.coli.

The dominant Lewis structure for (CH3)3NO presents a single bond between formal N (+) and O (−), as N fulfills the octet rule. Applying IUPAC’s ionic approximation, all electrons (by pairs, as (CH3)3NO is a closed-shell system) from the σ N−C bonds are assigned to N, while the ones from the N−O bond are assigned to the oxygen. Such an electron assignment leads to formal oxidation states of (−1) for N, (−2) for O, and (+1) for the three CH3 moieties.