[NO2]+ has a shape similar to :
SiO2
Work out the shape of the nitronium ion by counting electron domains on nitrogen.
Nitrogen contributes 5 valence electrons; the positive charge removes one, leaving 4. Both are used in double bonds to the two oxygens, so nitrogen has two bonding domains and no lone pair — an AX2 system. Two domains arrange themselves as far apart as possible, giving a linear ion, O=N=O, with a bond angle of exactly 180° and sp hybridisation.
Now test the options for the same geometry.
SO2 is AX2E: sulphur retains a lone pair, so the molecule is bent, about 119°.
H2O is AX2E2: two lone pairs compress the angle to 104.5°, strongly bent.
O3 is AX2E on the central oxygen, again bent, about 117°.
SiO2 as a discrete molecule has silicon with two double bonds and no lone pair — AX2, therefore linear, matching [NO2]+.
Two further points are worth noting. Nitronium is isoelectronic with CO2 and N2O, all 16-valence-electron AX2 species and all linear — a useful family to recognise. And the geometry has real chemical consequence: [NO2]+ is the electrophile in aromatic nitration, generated from HNO3 and H2SO4, and its linear, charge-concentrated form is what makes it so reactive. Note also the contrast with the neutral radical NO2, which has a single unpaired electron on nitrogen and is therefore bent at about 134°.
Hence [NO2]+ has a shape similar to SiO2.
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