CSEC Chemistry - Structure and Bonding
CSEC Chemistry - Structure and Bonding
Ions are charged atoms and molecules. The charge on an ion is also called its
valency. There are two types of ions:
Cations - These are positive ions which result when a metal atom loses
electrons
Anions - These are negative ions which result when a no-metal atom gains
electrons
Intramolecular bonding is the forces which hold together the atoms of a molecule. They bond
atoms together. There are three types of intramolecular bonding:
• Ionic Bonding
• Covalent Bonding
• Metallic Bonding
Ionic Bonding
Ionic bonding takes place between a non-metal and a metal. It involves the
transfer of electrons from the metal to the non-metal. E.g. the bonding between
sodium and chlorine in sodium chloride.
Covalent Bonding
Covalent bonding involves the sharing of electrons. It occurs between non-metals.
The atoms sharing these bonds may be of the same, or different types.
The most energy efficient way for non-metals to become stable is via the gain of
electrons. Since both atoms would need gain electrons, they share the electrons
between each other. E.g. O2
Brittleness
Giant ionic structures are quite hard, but are very brittle and can easily be broken into pieces
You can see that a small movement of any layer brings ions of the same charge next to each
other. You get massive repulsion, and the crystal would fall to pieces where that shift has
happened
Solubility in Water
Most ionic compounds are soluble in water. Ionic compounds are polar, and as such, dissolve
Structure And Bonding Page 4
Most ionic compounds are soluble in water. Ionic compounds are polar, and as such, dissolve
in polar solvents like water.
Bond polarity originates from a difference in electronegativity between the bonded elements.
Since O-H is a covalent bond, we would have expected that a shared pair of electrons would lie
around the middle of the two elements, but since H is a very small atom bonded to one of the
most highly electronegative elements, O, there is an asymmetric distribution of charge
between the elements. This leads to the formation of partially positive and partially negative
regions. This is described as Polar.
Ionic compounds are similar as they have positive and negative regions. Therefore, they
dissolve in polar solvents.
Water is covalently bonded yet is polar. This means that other covalent molecules may be
polar and therefor soluble in polar solvents instead of non-polar, such as most organic
solvents.
Conduction of Electricity
When something conducts electricity, electrons are flowing through it. The conduction of
electricity requires either free electrons, or free ions.
Solid ionic compounds cannot conduct electricity as there are neither free electrons nor ions.
When ionic compounds are molten or dissolved, their ions become mobile allowing them to
conduct electricity.
A giant covalent structure is one in which the atoms are joined by covalent
bonds over a huge (but variable) number of atoms. It is not a molecule because
the number of atoms joined up in a diamond, say, is completely variable,
depending on the size of crystal.
In the diagram some carbon atoms only seem to be forming two bonds (or
even one bond), but that's because we are only showing a small part of the
whole structure. Every carbon atom, until you get a crystal edge, will be joined
to four others.
So carbon and diamond are both allotropes of carbon, since they are both
chemically carbon, solids, and obviously different.
Each carbon atom uses 3 of its electrons to form covalent bonds to its 3
neighbours. That leaves the fourth electron in the bonding level. These 'spare'
electrons in each carbon atom become delocalized across the whole of the
sheet of atoms in one layer. They are no longer associated with any particular
atom or pair of atoms, they are free to wander throughout the whole sheet.
Delocalized electrons are free to move anywhere within the sheet. There is,
however, no direct contact between delocalized electrons and those in a
neighbouring sheet.
The atoms within a sheet are held together by strong covalent bonds, stronger,
in fact than those in diamond because of the additional bonding from the
delocalized electrons. The forces of attraction between layers are much
weaker though.
Intermolecular forces are those that act between molecules. There are three
main types of intermolecular forces:
• Van der Waals forces
• Permanent dipole-dipole interactions
• Hydrogen bonds
Hydrogen Bonds
This is a particular sort of comparatively strong dipole-dipole interaction
between molecules containing hydrogen with nitrogen, oxygen or fluorine.
These bonds result from the lone pairs of electrons on the nitrogen, oxygen or
fluorine atoms, so the hydrogen atom can be considered as acting as a bridge
between to electronegative atoms.
This form of bonding can have significant effects on the physical properties of
the compound concerned. For example, based on its molecular mass, water
would be expected to exist as a gas at room temperature. The fact that it exists
as a liquid at room temperature is due to the hydrogen bonding present. As a
result of hydrogen bonding, water possesses surface tension, which enables
some insects to walk on its surface. Finally the fact that ice is less dense than
liquid water and floats on the surface is also a result of hydrogen bonding.
In many equations there are ions which remain unchanged in state or in valency across an
equation. These are called spectator ions. If these are removed from the equation, and ionic
equation is formed. The steps in writing an ionic equation are: