bonding Flashcards
what is electronegativity
- Electronegativity is the ability of an atom to attract a pair of electrons towards itself in a covalent bond
- This phenomenon arises from the positive nucleus’s ability to attract the negatively charged electrons, in the outer shells, towards itself
what is the pauling scale
The Pauling scale is used to assign a value of electronegativity for each atom
which atom is the most electronegative
- Fluorine is the most electronegative atom on the Periodic Table, with a value of 4.0 on the
- It is best at attracting electron density towards itself when covalently bonded to another atom
how does nuclear charge affect electronegativity
an increased nuclear charge results in an increased electronegativity
why does nuclear charge increase electronegativity
- Attraction exists between the positively charged protons in the nucleus and negatively charged electrons found in the energy levels of an atom
- An increase in the number of protons leads to an increase in nuclear attraction for the electrons in the outer shells
how does atomic radius affect electronegativity
an increased atomic radius results in a decreased electronegativity
why does atomic radius decrease electronegativity
The atomic radius is the distance between the nucleus and electrons in the outermost shell
Electrons closer to the nucleus are more strongly attracted towards its positive nucleus
Those electrons further away from the nucleus are less strongly attracted towards the nucleus
how does shielding affect electronegativity
an increased number of inner shells and subshells will result in a decreased electronegativity
why does shielding decrease electronegativity
Filled energy levels can shield (mask) the effect of the nuclear charge causing the outer electrons to be less attracted to the nucleus
Therefore, the addition of extra shells and subshells in an atom will cause the outer electrons to experience less of the attractive force of the nucleus
what is the trend of electronegativity down a group
There is a decrease in electronegativity going down the group
why does electronegativity decrease down a group
The nuclear charge increases as more protons are being added to the nucleus
However, each element has an extra filled electron shell, which increases shielding
The addition of the extra shells increases the distance between the nucleus and the outer electrons resulting in larger atomic radii
Overall, there is decrease in attraction between the nucleus and outer bonding electrons
What is the trend of electronegativity across a period
Electronegativity increases across a Period
why does electronegativity increase across a period
The nuclear charge increases with the addition of protons to the nucleus
Shielding remains reasonably the same across the Period as no new shells are being added to the atoms
The nucleus has an increasingly strong attraction for the bonding pair of electrons of atoms across the Period of the Periodic Table
This results in smaller atomic radii
what kind of molecule is a non-polar molecule
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
The equal distribution leads to a non-polar molecule
what kind of molecule is a polar covalent molecule (how are they formed)
When atoms of different electronegativities form a molecule, the shared electrons are not equally distributed in the bond
The more electronegative atom (the atom with the higher value on the Pauling scale) will draw the bonding pair of electrons towards itself
A molecule with partial charges forms as a result
The more electronegative atom will have a partial negative charge (delta negative, δ–)
The less electronegative atom will have a partial positive charge (delta positive, δ+)
what happens if there is a large difference in electronegativity of two atoms in a molecule
If there is a large difference in electronegativity of the two atoms in a molecule, the least electronegative atom’s electron will transfer to the other atom
This in turn leads to an ionic bond – one atom transfers its electron and the other gains that electron
The cation is a positively charged species which has lost (an) electron(s)
The anion is a negatively charged species which has gained (an) electron(s)
what value of difference in electronegativity leads to a covalent bond
<1.0
what value of difference in electronegativity leads to a polar covalent bond
1.0 - 2.0
what value of difference in electronegativity leads to an ionic bond
> 2.0
what is dative covalent bonding/coordinate bond
In simple covalent bonds the two atoms involved shares electrons
Some molecules have a lone pair of electrons that can be donated to form a bond with an electron-deficient atom
An electron-deficient atom is an atom that has an unfilled outer orbital
So both electrons are from the same atom
what is molecular orbital
When a covalent bond is formed, the atomic orbitals overlap to form a combined orbital containing two electrons
how does the overlap of the orbitals affect the strength of the bond
The greater the atomic orbital overlap, the stronger the bond
what are the two types of molecular orbitals
- sigma
- pi
what are sigma bonds
Sigma (σ) bonds are formed by direct overlap of orbitals between the bonding atoms
what are pi bonds
Pi (π) bonds are formed by the sideways overlap of adjacent above and below the σ bond
where is the electron density in a sigma bond
The electron density in a σ bond is symmetrical about a line joining the nuclei of the atoms forming the bond
The pair of electrons is found between the nuclei of the two atoms
what bonds the atoms together in a sigma bond
The electrostatic attraction between the electrons and nuclei bonds the atoms to each other
how are pi bonds formed
Pi (π) bonds are formed from the sideways overlap of adjacent p orbitals
what is the overlap/structure of pi bond
The two lobes that make up the π bond lie above and below the plane of the σ bond
This maximises overlap of the p orbitals
how are pi bonds drawn
A single π bond is drawn as two electron clouds one arising from each lobe of the p orbitals
The two clouds of electrons in a π bond represent one bond containing two electrons
what is hybridisation
the mixing of atomic orbitals to form covalent bonds
how does hybridisation happen
The p atomic orbitals can also overlap end-on to form σ bonds
In order for them to do this, they first need to become modified in order to gain s orbital character
The orbitals are therefore slightly changed in shape to make one of the p orbital lobe bigger