Fundamentals of

Chemistry
Academic year: 2023 - 2024

Chemical bonding

Dr. Lê Hồng Luyến

Department of Life Sciences
Email: le-hong.luyen@usth.edu.vn 1
Content of this lesson

• Ionic bonding
• Covalent bonding
• Metallic bonding
• Shapes of molecules
• Polarity in molecules
• Intermolecular forces

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 Chemical bonding

• A molecule is composed by several atoms

• Atoms are connected by chemical bonding
• Covalent bond
• Ionic bond
• The nature of chemical bonding leads to different chemical
properties of different molecules.

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 Chemical bonding

• Chemical bond is a force that holds atoms together in a molecule or an

ionic compound.
• In bonding, atoms tend to lose, gain or share valence electrons to
achieve a more stable configuration similar to that of a noble gas.

Types of bond
Bond Type Elements Example

Ionic Metal + Nonmetal NaCl (table salt)

Covalent Nonmetal + Nonmetal H2O (water)

Metallic Metal + Metal

Fe (iron)

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 Chemical bonding
Metallic bonding
Sodium, gold, mercury, magnesium and copper metals

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 Chemical bonding
Metallic bonding
• In a metal, the atoms are packed closely together in a
lattice.
• Metal atoms in a lattice tend to lose their outer shell
electrons and become positive ions.
• The outer shell electrons occupy new energy
levels and are free to move throughout the metal lattice -
à delocalised electrons (mobile electrons)

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 Chemical bonding
Metallic bonding
• Metallic bonding is strong due to the electrostatic
attraction between positive ions and negative delocalized
electrons
• The strength of metallic bonding increases with:
– Increasing positive charge on the ions in the metal
lattice
– Decreasing size of metal ions in the lattice
– Increasing number of mobile electrons per atom.

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 Chemical bonding
Metallic bonding
• Most of metals are solid but Mercury is a
liquid at room temperature. Why?

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 Chemical bonding
Ionic bonding
• Electrons are transferred from the metal to the nonmetal, creating a
positively charged metal cation and a negatively charged nonmetal
anion, each with a more stable electron configuration.

• Always formed between metals and non-metals

[METALS ]
+ [NON-METALS ]-

Lost e- Gained e-

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 Chemical bonding
Ionic bonding

• Ionic bonding forms ionic compounds called Salts or Crystals

• Ionic compounds have high melting point due to a lot of
energy required to separate the ions from one another.
• Ionic bonding is very strong

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 Chemical bonding
Covalent bonding
• Occurs generally between non-metals.
• Electrons are shared in pairs, forming molecules in which each atom
has at least a part of a noble-gas electron configuration.
• Molecules have lower melting and boiling points than ionic compounds
• Occur naturally as gases, liquids or soft solid

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 Chemical bonding
Covalent bonding
• A Single Covalent Bond consists of two
atoms held together by sharing 1 pair of
electrons (2 e-)

• A Double Covalent Bond is a bond that involves

2 shared pairs of electrons (4 e-)

• A Triple Covalent Bond is a bond that involves 3

shared pairs of electrons (6 e-)

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 Chemical bonding
Covalent bonding classification
Nonpolar covalent bond (share equally):

Electrons are equally shared and charge is evenly

distributed over the two bonded atom

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 Chemical bonding
Covalent bonding classification
Nonpolar covalent bond

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 Chemical bonding
Covalent bonding classification
Polar covalent bond (share unequally):

• Electrons are unequally shared between two atom.

• One atom has a partial negative charge and the other
atom has a partial positive charge

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 Chemical bonding
Covalent bonding classification
Polar covalent bond

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 Chemical bonding
Covalent bonding classification
Question 1: Identify the type of bonding in each of
the following substances:
a) CaCl2 d) NaF
b) NO2 e) ClO2
c) FeSO4 f) K2CO3

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 Electronegativity

• The greater the value of the electronegativity, the greater

the power of an atom to attract the electrons in a
covalent bond towards itself.
• Fluorine is the most electronegative element.

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 Polarity in bonds
• When the electronegativity values of the two
atoms forming a covalent bond are the same,
the pair of electrons is equally shared
à Non-polar covalent bond

E.g.: H2, Cl2, Br2

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 Polarity in bonds
• When a covalent bond is formed between two
atoms having different electronegativity values
à Polar covalent bond
• The two atoms are partially charged
– the less electronegative atom with the partial charge
δ+ (‘delta positive’)
– the more electronegative atom with the partial charge
δ– (‘delta negative’)

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 Intermolecular forces
• The forces between molecules are called
intermolecular forces.
• Three types of intermolecular force:
– Van der Waals’ forces (dispersion
forces)
– Permanent dipole–dipole forces
– Hydrogen bonding

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 Intermolecular forces
• Comparing the relative strength of
intermolecular forces and other bonds

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 Intermolecular forces
Van der Waals’ forces
• Why?
– Noble gases can be liquefied, but at very low
temperatures
– Bromine is a non-polar molecule that is liquid at room
temperature

à There must be very weak forces of attraction

which keep the atoms together in the liquid state

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 Intermolecular forces
Van der Waals’ forces
• Van der Waals’ forces increase with:
– Increasing number of electrons in the molecule
– Increasing the number of contact points (surface
area) between the molecules

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 Intermolecular forces
Van der Waals’ forces
• Van der Waals’ forces increase with:
– Increasing number of electrons in the molecule
– Increasing the number of contact points (surface
area) between the molecules

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 Intermolecular forces
Van der Waals’ forces
• Q1: The boiling points of the halogens are:
fluorine: –188°C; chlorine: –35°C
bromine: +59°C; iodine: +184°C
Explain the trend in these boiling points.

• Q2: The table lists the formulae and boiling points of

some alkanes. Explain this trend.

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 Intermolecular forces
Permanent dipole–dipole forces
• The forces between two polar molecules (having
permanent dipoles) are called permanent
dipole–dipole forces.

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 Intermolecular forces
Permanent dipole–dipole forces
• For small molecules with the same number of electrons,
permanent dipole–dipole forces are often stronger than
van der Waals’ forces

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 Intermolecular forces
Hydrogen bonding
• Hydrogen bonding is the strongest type of
intermolecular force.
• For hydrogen bonding to occur between two
molecules:
– One molecule having a hydrogen atom covalently
bonded to F, O or N
– A second molecule having a F, O or N atom with an
available lone pair of electrons.

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 Intermolecular forces
Hydrogen bonding
• Which molecule having stronger hydrogen
bonding?

Hydrogen bonding between two ammonia molecules.

Hydrogen bonding between water molecules. 30

 Intermolecular forces
Hydrogen bonding
• Question: Draw diagrams to show hydrogen
bonding between the following molecules:

a. ethanol, C2H5OH, and water

b. ammonia and water
c. two hydrogen fluoride molecules

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 Intermolecular forces
Hydrogen bonding
• Question: Explain this diagram showing the
boiling points of the hydrogen halides

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