Lewis Acids and Bases - Depicting Adducts

Depicting Adducts

In many cases, the interaction between the Lewis base and Lewis acid is indicated by an arrow—for example, Me₃B←NH₃. The direction of the arrow is from the Lewis base toward the Lewis acid. Some sources indicate the Lewis base with a pair of dots both in the precursor Lewis base as well as the adduct, as shown in this equation:

A center dot may also be used: Me₃B·NH₃. In general, however, the donor acceptor bond is viewed as simply somewhere along a continuum between idealized covalent bonding and ionic bonding.