4.2 Chemical Bonding and Structure Flashcards
What does ionic bonding involve?
Ionic bonds involve the transfer of electrons from a metallic element to a non-metallic element
Why do elements want to have full outer shells?
Transferring electrons usually leaves the metal and the non-metal with a full outer shell
What electron arrangement do atoms have when they form ions?
Once the atoms become ions, their electronic configurations are the same as a noble gas
What type of forces are in ionic lattices?
Cations and anions are oppositely charged and therefore attracted to each other
Electrostatic attractions are formed between the oppositely charged ions to form ionic compounds
Why do ionic compounds have high mp and bp?
This form of attraction (electrostatic forces) is very strong and requires a lot of energy to overcome
This causes high melting points in ionic compounds
What structures do ionic lattices form?
The ions form a lattice structure which is an evenly distributed crystalline structure
How are ions arranged in a lattice?
Ions in a lattice are arranged in a regular repeating pattern so that positive charges cancel out negative charges
What charge does the lattice have?
Therefore the final lattice is overall electrically neutral
What affects the melting/boiling point of a substance?
Different types of structure and bonding have different effects on the physical properties of substances such as their melting and boiling points, electrical conductivity and solubility
Are ionic compounds weak/strong? Why?
Ionic compounds are strong
The strong electrostatic forces in ionic compounds keep the ions strongly together
Are ionic compounds brittle/malleable?
They are brittle as ionic crystals can split apart
What increases the melting and boiling points of ionic compounds?
The strong electrostatic forces between the ions in the lattice act in all directions and keep them strongly together
Melting and boiling points increase with charge density of the ions due to the greater electrostatic attraction of charges
Mg2+O2- has a higher melting point than Na+Cl–
Are ionic compounds in/soluble in water?
Ionic compounds are soluble in water as they can form ion – dipole bonds
Can ionic compounds conduct electricty?
Ionic compounds only conduct electricity when molten or in solution
Why can ionic compounds only conduct electricity in molten state?
When molten or in solution, the ions can freely move around and conduct electricity
Why do ionic compounds not conduct electricity when solid?
In the solid-state they’re in a fixed position and unable to move around
What elements form an ionic compound?
Ionic compounds are formed from a metal and a nonmetal bonded together
What elements does covalent bonding occur between?
Covalent bonding occurs between two non-metals
What forces are in a covalent bond?
A covalent bond involves the electrostatic attraction between nuclei of two atoms and the electrons of their outer shells
How do the atoms achieve full outer shells in ionic bonding?
No electrons are transferred but only shared in this type of bonding
What is formed during a covalent bond?
When a covalent bond is formed, two atomic orbitals overlap and a molecular orbital is formed
Why does covalent bonding occur?
Covalent bonding happens because the electrons are more stable when attracted to two nuclei than when attracted to only one
How should the electrons in a covalent bond be regarded as?
Covalent bonds should not be regarded as shared electron pairs in a fixed position; the electrons are in a state of constant motion and are best regarded as charge clouds
Will the central atom always have an octet?
NO
Covalent bonds should not be regarded as shared electron pairs in a fixed position; the electrons are in a state of constant motion and are best regarded as charge clouds
What is it known as when the central atom has more than 8 electrons?
Being able to accommodate more than 8 electrons in the outer shell is known as ‘expanding the octet rule’
What is it known as when the central atom has less than 8 electrons?
Accommodating less than 8 electrons in the outer shell means than the central atom is ‘electron deficient’
What can be used to predict whether a bond is ionic or covalent?
The differences in Pauling electronegativity values can be used to predict whether a bond is covalent or ionic in character
How is the electron density shared in diatomic molecules?
In diatomic molecules the electron density is shared equally between the two atoms
Eg. H2, O2 and Cl2
Using electronegativity values, explain why diatomic molecules form covalent bonds?
Both atoms will have the same electronegativity value and have an equal attraction for the bonding pair of electrons leading to formation of a covalent bond
What difference in electronegativity does a covalent bond have?
<1.0
What difference in electronegativity does an ionic bond have?
> 2.0
What difference in electronegativity does a polar covalent bond have?
1.0-2.0
What do simple covalent bonds involve?
In simple covalent bonds the two atoms involved share electrons
What is a dative covalent bond or a coordinate bond?
Some molecules have a lone pair of electrons that can be donated to form a bond with an electron-deficient atom
What is an electron deficient atom?
An electron-deficient atom is an atom that has an unfilled outer orbital
What is an example of a dative bond?
An example of a dative bond is in an ammonium ion
Describe the dative bonding in the ammonium ion NH4 +
The hydrogen ion, H+ is electron-deficient and has space for two electrons in its shell
The nitrogen atom in ammonia has a lone pair of electrons which it can donate to the hydrogen ion to form a dative covalent bond
Is it possible to form a quadruple bond?
NO
It is not possible to form a quadruple bond as the repulsion from having 8 electrons in the same region between the two nuclei is too great
What is bond energy?
The bond energy is the energy required to break one mole of a particular covalent bond in the gaseous states
Bond energy has units of kJ mol-1
How does bond energy affect the strength of the covalent bond?
The larger the bond energy, the stronger the covalent bond is
What is the bond length?
The bond length is internuclear distance of two covalently bonded atoms
(It is the distance from the nucleus of one atom to another atom which forms the covalent bond)
How does bond length change with a higher number of electrons being shared?
The greater the forces of attraction between electrons and nuclei, the more the atoms are pulled closer to each other
This decreases the bond length of a molecule and increases the strength of the covalent bond
Describe a triple bond in terms of strength and length
Triple bonds are the shortest and strongest covalent bonds due to the large electron density between the nuclei of the two atoms
Why are triple bonds the strongest and shortest
This increase the forces of attraction between the electrons and nuclei of the atoms
As a result of this, the atoms are pulled closer together causing a shorter bond length
The increased forces of attraction also means that the covalent bond is stronger
When is a covalent bond non-polar?
When two atoms in a covalent bond have the same electronegativity the covalent bond is nonpolar
When is a covalent bond polar?
When two atoms in a covalent bond have different electronegativities the covalent bond is polar and the electrons will be drawn towards the more electronegative atom
Do the positively charged and negatively charged regions of a polar molecule meet? How does this affect the electron distribution?
The negative charge centre and positive charge centre do not coincide with each other
This means that the electron distribution is asymmetric
How do you determine which part of the molecule is negatively and positively charged?
The less electronegative atom gets a partial charge of δ+ (delta positive)
The more electronegative atom gets a partial charge of δ- (delta negative)
What makes the bond more polar?
The greater the difference in electronegativity the more polar the bond becomes
What is a dipole moment?
The dipole moment is a measure of how polar a bond is
What direction does the dipole moment point in?
The direction of the dipole moment is shown by the following sign in which the arrow points to the partially negatively charged end of the dipole:
What are Lewis Structures?
Lewis structures are simplified electron shell diagrams and show pairs of electrons around atoms.
What is the octet rule?
The “octet rule” refers to the tendency of atoms to gain a valence shell with a total of 8 electrons
What elements try to achieve the octet rule?
For elements below atomic number 20 the octet rule states that the atoms try to achieve 8 electrons in their valence shells, so they have the same electron configuration as a noble gas
List elements that are exceptions to the octet rule
H, Li, Be, B and Al
Why is H an exception to the octet rule?
H can achieve a stable arrangement by gaining an electron to become 1s2, the same structure as the noble gas helium
Why is Li an exception to the octet rule?
Li does the same, but losing an electron and going from 1s22s1 to 1s2 to become a Li+ ion
Why is Be an exception to the octet rule?
Be from group 2, has two valence electrons and forms stable compounds with just four electrons in the valence shell
Why are B and Al an exception to the octet rule?
B and Al in group 13 have 3 valence electrons and can form stable compounds with only 6 valence electrons
What are 2 examples of Lewis structures with incomplete octets?
, BeCl2 and BF3
What can explain certain resonance structures?
The delocalization of electrons can explain the structures of some species that don’t seem to fit with a Lewis structure
What are delocalised electrons?
Delocalized electrons are electrons in a molecule, ion or solid metal that are not associated with a single atom or one covalent bond
What is the “correct” resonance structure for the nitrate ion?
studies of the electron density and bond length in the nitrate (V) ion indicate all the bonds are equal in length and the electron density is spread evenly between the three oxygen atoms
The bond length is intermediate between a single and a double bond
The actual structure is something in between the resonance structures and is known as a resonance hybrid
What are the criteria for forming resonance hybrid structures?
The criteria for forming resonance hybrids structures is that molecules must have a double bond (pi bond) that is capable of migrating from one part of a molecule to another
When can a pi bond be formed that is capable of migrating?
This usually arises when there are adjacent atoms with equal electronegativity and lone pairs of electrons that can re-arrange themselves and allow the double bonds to be in different positions
What are the interactions between bonds and nonbonding electrons?
the electrons in the different bonds and the non-bonding electrons in the outer shell all behave as negatively charged clouds and repel each other
How do atoms minimise this repulsion?
In order to minimise this repulsion, all the outer shell electrons spread out as far apart in space as possible
How can the molecular shapes be determined?
Molecular shapes and the angles between bonds can be predicted by the valence shell electron pair repulsion theory known by the abbreviation VSEPR theory
What are the 3 main rules of VSEPR?
- All electron pairs and all lone pairs arrange themselves as far apart in space as is possible.
- Lone pairs repel more strongly than bonding pairs.
- Multiple bonds behave like single bonds
What are domains?
The regions of negative cloud charge are known as domains and can have one, two or three pairs electrons
What is the bond angle when there are 2 domains?
If there are two electron domains on the central atom, the angle between the bonds is 180o
What is the molecular shape with 2 domains?
Molecules which adopt this shape are said to be LINEAR
What is the bond angle when there are 3 domains?
If there are three electron domains on the central atom, the angle between the bonds is 120o
What is the molecular shape with 3 domains?
Molecules which adopt this shape are said to be TRIANGULAR PLANAR or TRIGONAL PLANAR