Types of Chemical Bonds

There are 4 types of chemical bonds. These types of chemical bonds include
 Ionic Bonds
 Covalent Bonds
 Metallic Binds
 Co-ordinate covalent bonds

Ionic Bonding
Ionic bonding is a type of chemical bonding which involves a transfer of electrons from one atom or
molecule to another. Here, an atom loses an electron, which is, in turn, gained by another atom. When
such an electron transfer takes place, one of the atoms develops a negative charge. A chemical bond is
formed between two atoms by the complete transfer of one or more electrons from one atom to the
other as a result of which the atoms attain their nearest inert gas configuration.
The electrostatic force of attraction which holds the two oppositely charged ions together is called the
ionic bond.
Examples:

Covalent Bond
Elements having very high ionization energies are incapable of transferring electrons, and elements
having very low electron affinity cannot take up electrons. The atoms of such elements tend to share
their electrons with the atoms of other elements or with other atoms of the same element in a way that
both the atoms obtain octet configuration in their respective valence shells, and thus achieve stability.
Such association through sharing of electron pairs among different or same kinds is known as Covalent
Bond.
Lewis Theory of Chemical Bonding
 An atom can be viewed as a positively charged ‘Kernel’ (the nucleus plus the inner electrons)
and the outer shell.
 The outer shell can accommodate a maximum of eight electrons only.
 The eight electrons present in the outer shell occupy the corners of a cube which surround the
‘Kernel’.
 The atoms have an octet configuration, i.e., 8 electrons in the outermost shell, thus symbolizing
a stable configuration.
 Atoms can achieve this stable configuration by forming chemical bonds with other atoms. This
chemical bond can be formed either by gaining or losing an electron(s) (NaCl, MgCl2) or, in some
cases, due to the sharing of an electron (F2).
 Only the electrons present in the outer shell, also known as the valence electrons, take part in
the formation of chemical bonds. Gilbert Lewis used specific notations, better known as Lewis
symbols, to represent these valence electrons.
 Generally, the valency of an element is either equal to the number of dots in the corresponding
Lewis symbol or 8 minus the number of dots (or valence electrons).
Postulates of VSEPR Theory
The postulates of the VSEPR theory are listed below.
 In polyatomic molecules (i.e., molecules made up of three or more atoms), one of the
constituent atoms is identified as the central atom to which all other atoms belonging to the
molecule are linked.
 The total number of valence shell electron pairs decides the shape of the molecule.
 The electron pairs have a tendency to orient themselves in a way that minimizes the electron-
electron repulsion between them and maximizes the distance between them.
 The valence shell can be thought of as a sphere wherein the electron pairs are localized on the
surface in such a way that the distance between them is maximized.
 Should the central atom of the molecule be surrounded by bond pairs of electrons, then the
asymmetrically shaped molecule can be expected.
 Should the central atom be surrounded by both lone pairs and bond pairs of electrons, the
molecule would tend to have a distorted shape.
 The VSEPR theory can be applied to each resonance structure of a molecule.
 The strength of the repulsion is strongest in two lone pairs and weakest in two bond pairs.
 If electron pairs around the central atom are closer to each other, they will repel each other.
This results in an increase in the energy of the molecules.
 If the electron pairs lie far from each other, the repulsions between them will be less, and
eventually, the energy of the molecule will be low.

Limitations of VSEPR Theory

Some significant limitations of the VSEPR theory include
 This theory fails to explain isoelectronic species (i.e., elements having the same number of
electrons). The species may vary in shape, despite having the same number of electrons.
 The VSEPR theory does not shed any light on the compounds of transition metals. The structure
of several such compounds cannot be correctly described by this theory. This is because the
VSEPR theory does not take into account the associated sizes of the substituent groups and the
lone pairs that are inactive.
 Another limitation of the VSEPR theory is that it predicts that halides of group 2 elements will
have a linear structure, whereas their actual structure is a bent one.
History of Valence Bond Theory
The Lewis approach to chemical bonding failed to shed light on the formation of chemical bonds. Also,
valence shell electron pair repulsion theory (or VSEPR theory) had limited applications (and also failed in
predicting the geometry corresponding to complex molecules).
In order to address these issues, the valence bond theory was put forth by the German physicists Walter
Heinrich Heitler and Fritz Wolfgang London. The Schrodinger wave equation was also used to explain the
formation of a covalent bond between two hydrogen atoms. The chemical bonding of two hydrogen
atoms as per the valence bond theory is illustrated below.

Postulates of Valence Bond Theory

 The important postulates of the valence bond theory are listed below.
 Covalent bonds are formed when two valence orbitals (half-filled) belonging to two different
atoms overlap on each other. The electron density in the area between the two bonding atoms
increases as a result of this overlapping, thereby increasing the stability of the resulting
molecule.
 The presence of many unpaired electrons in the valence shell of an atom enables it to form
multiple bonds with other atoms. The paired electrons present in the valence shell do not take
participate in the formation of chemical bonds as per the valence bond theory.
 Covalent chemical bonds are directional and are also parallel to the region corresponding to the
atomic orbitals that are overlapping.
  Sigma bonds and pi bonds differ in the pattern that the atomic orbitals overlap in, i.e. pi bonds
are formed from sidewise overlapping whereas the overlapping along the axis containing the
nuclei of the two atoms leads to the formation of sigma bonds.

Applications of Valence Bond Theory

 The maximum overlap condition which is described by the valence bond theory can explain the
formation of covalent bonds in several molecules.
 This is one of its most important applications. For example, the difference in the length and
strength of the chemical bonds in H2 and F2 molecules can be explained by the difference in the
overlapping orbitals in these molecules.
 The covalent bond in an HF molecule is formed from the overlap of the 1s orbital of the
hydrogen atom and a 2p orbital belonging to the fluorine atom, which is explained by the
valence bond theory.

Limitations of Valence Bond Theory

The shortcomings of the valence bond theory include
 Failure to explain the tetravalency exhibited by carbon.
 No insight is offered on the energies of the electrons.
 The theory assumes that electrons are localized in specific areas.
 It does not give a quantitative interpretation of the thermodynamic or kinetic stabilities of
coordination compounds.
 No distinction between weak and strong ligands.
 No explanation for the colour exhibited by coordination compounds

Hybridization
When two atomic orbitals combine to form a hybrid orbital in a molecule, the energy of the
orbitals of individual atoms is redistributed to give orbitals of equivalent energy. This is known
as hybridization. The mixing two atomic orbitals to give rise to a new type of hybridized orbitals.
This intermixing usually results in the formation of hybrid orbitals having entirely different
energy, shapes, etc. The atomic orbitals of the same energy level mainly take part in
hybridization. However, both fully-filled and half-filled orbitals can also take part in this process,
provided they have equal energy. During the process of hybridization, the atomic orbitals of
comparable energies are mixed together and mostly involves the merging of two ‘s’ orbitals or
two ‘p’ orbitals or the mixing of an ‘s’ orbital with a ‘p’ orbital, as well as ‘s’ orbital with a ‘d’
orbital. The new orbitals, thus formed, are known as hybrid orbitals.
Key Features of Hybridization
Atomic orbitals with equal energies undergo hybridization.
 The number of hybrid orbitals formed is equal to the number of atomic orbitals mixed.
 It is not necessary that all the half-filled orbitals must participate in hybridization. Even
completely filled orbitals with slightly different energies can also participate.
 Hybridization happens only during the bond formation and not in an isolated gaseous
atom.
 The shape of the molecule can be predicted if the hybridization of the molecule is
known.
 The bigger lobe of the hybrid orbital always has a positive sign, while the smaller lobe on
the opposite side has a negative sign.
Types of Hybridization
There are six types of orbitals involved in mixing, the hybridization can be classified as
i. sp3
ii. sp2
iii. sp
iv. sp3d
v. sp3d2
vi. sp3d3

sp3 Hybridization
When one ‘s’ orbital and 3 ‘p’ orbitals belonging to the same shell of an atom mix together to
form four new equivalent orbitals, the type of hybridization is called a tetrahedral hybridization
or sp3. The new orbitals formed are called sp3 hybrid orbitals.
 These are directed towards the four corners of a regular tetrahedron and make an angle
of 109°28’ with one another.
 The angle between the sp3 hybrid orbitals is 109.280
 Each sp3 hybrid orbital has 25% s character and 75% p character.
Examples of sp3 hybridization are ethane (C2H6) and methane.
sp2 Hybridization
sp2 hybridization is observed when one s and two p orbitals of the same shell of an atom mix to
form 3 equivalent orbitals. The new orbitals formed are called sp2 hybrid orbitals.
 sp2 hybridization is also called trigonal hybridization.
 It involves the mixing of one ‘s’ orbital and two ‘p’ orbitals of equal energy to give a new
hybrid orbital known as sp2.
 A mixture of s and p orbital formed in trigonal symmetry and is maintained at 1200.
 All three hybrid orbitals remain in one plane and make an angle of 120° with one
another. Each of the hybrid orbitals formed has a 33.33% ‘s’ character and 66.66% ‘p’
character.
 The molecules in which the central atom is linked to 3 atoms and is sp2 hybridized have
a triangular planar shape.
Examples of sp2 Hybridization
 All the compounds of Boron, i.e., BF3 and BH3
 All the compounds of carbon, containing a carbon-carbon double bond, Ethylene (C2H4)
sp Hybridization
sp hybridization is observed when one s and one p orbital in the same main shell of an atom
mix to form two new equivalent orbitals. The new orbitals formed are called sp hybridized
orbitals. It forms linear molecules with an angle of 180°.
 This type of hybridization involves the mixing of one ‘s’ orbital and one ‘p’ orbital of
equal energy to give a new hybrid orbital known as an sp hybridized orbital.
 The sp hybridization is also called diagonal hybridization.
 Each sp hybridized orbital has an equal amount of s and p characters – 50% s and 50% p
characters.

Examples of sp Hybridization:
 All compounds of beryllium, like BeF2, BeH2, BeCl2
 All compounds of a carbon-containing triple bond, like C2H2.

Molecular Orbital Theory

The molecular orbital theory (often abbreviated to MOT) is a theory on chemical bonding
developed at the beginning of the twentieth century by F. Hund and R. S. Mulliken to describe
the structure and properties of different molecules. The valence-bond theory failed to
adequately explain how certain molecules contain two or more equivalent bonds whose bond
orders lie between that of a single bond and that of a double bond, such as the bonds in
resonance-stabilized molecules. This is where the molecular orbital theory proved to be more
powerful than the valence-bond theory (since the orbitals described by the MOT reflect the
geometries of the molecules to which it is applied).
The key features of the molecular orbital theory are listed below.
 The total number of molecular orbitals formed will always be equal to the total number
of atomic orbitals offered by the bonding species.
 There exist different types of molecular orbitals: bonding molecular orbitals, anti-
bonding molecular orbitals and non-bonding molecular orbitals. Of these, anti-bonding
molecular orbitals will always have higher energy than the parent orbitals, whereas
bonding molecular orbitals will always have lower energy than the parent orbitals.
 The electrons are filled into molecular orbitals in the increasing order of orbital energy
(from the orbital with the lowest energy to the orbital with the highest energy).
 The most effective combinations of atomic orbitals (for the formation of molecular
orbitals) occur when the combining atomic orbitals have similar energies.
 The atomic orbitals overlap to form new orbitals called molecular orbitals. When two
atomic orbitals overlap, they lose their identity and form new orbitals called molecular
orbitals.
 The electrons in the molecules are filled in the new energy states called the molecular
orbitals, similar to the electrons in an atom being filled in an energy state called atomic
orbitals.
 The probability of finding the electronic distribution in a molecule around its group of
nuclei is given by the molecular orbital.
 The two combining atomic orbitals should possess energies of comparable value and
similar orientation. For example, 1s can combine with 1s and not with 2s.
 The number of molecular orbitals formed is equal to the number of atomic orbitals
combined.
 The shape of molecular orbitals formed depends upon the shape of the combining
atomic orbitals.
In simple terms, the molecular orbital theory states that each atom tends to combine together
and form molecular orbitals. As a result of such an arrangement, electrons are found in various
atomic orbitals, and they are usually associated with different nuclei. In short, an electron in a
molecule can be present anywhere in the molecule.
One of the main impacts of the molecular orbital theory after its formulation is that it paved a
new way to understand the process of bonding. With this theory, molecular orbitals are
basically considered linear combinations of atomic orbitals.
Molecular Orbitals
Types of Molecular Orbitals
According to the molecular orbital theory, there exist three primary types of molecular orbitals
that are formed from the linear combination of atomic orbitals. These orbitals are detailed
below.
Anti-Bonding Molecular Orbitals
The electron density is concentrated behind the nuclei of the two bonding atoms in anti-
bonding molecular orbitals. This results in the nuclei of the two atoms being pulled away from
each other. These kinds of orbitals weaken the bond between two atoms.
Non-Bonding Molecular Orbitals
In the case of non-bonding molecular orbitals, due to a complete lack of symmetry in the
compatibility of two bonding atomic orbitals, the molecular orbitals formed have no positive or
negative interactions with each other. These types of orbitals do not affect the bond between
the two atoms.