BONDING WHY DO ATOMS COMBINE ?

The major reason why atoms combine to form molecules is to give them greater

stability .
A CHEMICAL BOND is a FORCE which holds together two(2) or more atoms, ions ,molecules or any combination of these. The force is the ELECTROSTATIC FORCE of ATTRACTION between positively charged nuclei and negatively charged ions. The magnitude of this force of attraction depends primarily on the electronic arrangement or configuration of the outermost shell (or valence shell). HOW CAN WE EXPLAIN THE CHEMICAL BOND? The CHEMICAL BOND can be explained using the ELECTRONIC THEORY OF VALENCE which was proposed by GN LEWIS and W KOSSEL in 1916. This theory says that when atoms form bonds, they try to achieve the MOST STABLE (ie lowest energy) electronic configuration. The bonding can take place in two (2) ways: 1. The atoms can gain or lose electrons to form ions. Now, when an atom gains at least one electron it acquires an overall negative charge, and , becomes an ANION. The size of the negative charge on the anion depends on how many electrons were gained.For example, If an atom gains one electron, then the anion formed has one negative charge,xIf an atom gains two electrons, then the anion formed has two negative charges,x2- . If an atom gains three electrons, then the anion has three negative charges,x3-. On the other hand, when an atom loses at least one electron, then acquires an overall positive charge, and , becomes a CATION.

The size of the positive charge on the anion depends on how many electrons were gained.For example, If an atom loses one electron, then the cation formed has one positive charge,x+ . If an atom gains two electrons, then the anion formed has two negative charges,x2+ . If an atom gains three electrons, then the anion has three negative charges,x3+. In general, when atoms combine: those with 1, 2 or 3 electrons in their outermost shell (electrons in the outermost shell are called valence electrons) tend to lose them, acquiring the electronic structure of the noble gas that immediately precedes it. atoms with 5, 6 or 7 valence electrons often tend to gain electrons, acquiring the electronic structure of the noble gas that immediately follows it. the atoms which readily lose their electrons are often categorised as metals. the atoms that have a tendency to gain electrons are often categorised as nonmetals. The bond is the electrostactic force of attraction between the anion and the cation. This type of bond is called an IONIC BOND. 2. An atom can also a achieve stable outer electron configuration by sharing electrons . This is COVALENT BONDING.

IONIC BONDING An IONIC BOND is the electrostatic force of attraction between two oppositely charged ions. An IONIC BOND is formed when electrons are transferred from a metal atom to a non- metal atom .The compounds formed are called IONIC COMPOUNDS.
The metal atom transfers its valence electron(s) to the outermost shell of the non-metal atom(s).

The metal atom becomes a cation with the size of the charge being equivalent to the number

of electrons transferred.

The non-metal atom becomes an anion, with the size of the charge being equivalent to the The cations and anions thus formed have new, stable electronic configurations identical to

number of electrons gained. that of the nearest noble gas in the Periodic Table.

The attraction between these oppositely charged ions provides the binding forces which hold

the ionic compounds together.

Metal atom M -

(n) electron(s) Metal ion (called a CATION) (n)e Mn+ Non metal ion ( called an ANION ) Xn-

Non metal atom + (n) electron(s) X + ( n)e Mn+ + Xn- Mn+ Xn- or MX EXAMPLES Na (2,8,1) Cl (2,8,7)
sodium atom 2,8,1

Na+ (2,8)

+ e-

+ e- Cl(2,8,8)
chlorine atom 2,8,7 sodium ion 2,8 EC of neon chloride ion 2,8,8 EC of argon

xx xx
Na

xx xx x x x
Cl

x x

x x

Na

x x

Cl

xx

xx

Na x

Cl

[Na] +

x Cl

Figure 13: The formation of sodium chloride (NaCl) using a dot/cross diagram

IONIC COMPOUNDS are formed mostly from METALLIC CATIONS from Groups I, II, (and III) combining with NON-METALLIC ANIONS from Groups VI and VII. GROUP I Li + (2,1) GROUP I 2Na (2,8,1) GROUP II Ca (2,8,8,2) . GROUPVII F (2,7) GROUPVI + O (2,6) Li+ + F(2) + (2,8)

2Na+ + O2(2,8) (2,8) + O2(2,8)

GROUPVI + O Ca2+ + (2,6) (2,8,8)

COVALENT BONDING WHEN DOES IT OCCUR? Occurs when atoms of the combining elements find it difficult to form stable ions by either gaining or losing elecrons. A covalent bond consists of two electrons shared between adjacent atoms. Each atom contributes one electron to the shared pair.

Covalent Bonding
similar electronegativity share electrons bonds determined by valence s & p orbitals dominate bonding Example: CH4
C: has 4 valence needs 4 more e-,

CH 4
H

shared electrons from carbon atom

H: has 1 valence e-, needs 1 more Electronegativities are comparable.

H shared electrons from hydrogen atoms

Adapted from Fig. 2.10, Callister 7e.

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METALLIC BONDING QUESTION: WHAT FORMS METALLIC BONDS? Metallic Bonding occurs only in metals. Most metals have one electron (ie Group I metals), or two electrons (i.e. Group II metals) or at most three electrons (ie GroupIII metals) in the outermost (ie valence) shell of the atom. These electrons are called VALENCE ELECTRONS. These outermost shell electrons are loosely held to the atomic nucleus, and as the metallic vapour condenses, and subsequently solidifies to form the solid metal crystalline lattice, these outermost shell electrons are surrendered to a sort of common pool , and are virtually shared between all the atoms(really ions) in the solid metal. Hence these valence electrons become delocalized and do not belong to any one ion. The result is a freely moving sea of electrons around the lattice of positively charged ions(CATIONS). Another way of describing this is to say that there is a cloud of electrons among the cations. This is shown below: O- O O O - O - O O O - O O - O O O- O O- O O- O There are three forces in the solid lattice ; 5

a. Cation - Cation repulsion b. Electron Electron repulsion c. Cation Electron attraction force The attraction force is is greater than the repulsion forces. The ions(cations) are held together of the natural repulsion . The cation sea of electron bond is the METALLIC BOND This METALLIC BOND THEORY helps explain many of the main characteristics of metallic elements: All metals are good conductors of electricity . All metals are good conductors of heat. Most metals are DUCTILE (stretched into wires) and MALLEABLE( made into flat sheets). Metals are LUSTROUS (shiny). INTERMOLECULAR FORCES 1. VAN DER WALS FORCES. Consider COVALENT COMPOUNDS, regardless of size of molecules. Number of protons = number of electrons COVALENT COMPOUNDS - are electrically neutral - have no resultant electrical charge QUESTION; So, WHY DO THESE MOLECULES STICK TOGETHER TO FORM A LIQUID OR COHERENT SOLID MASS? CONSIDER THE CASE OF NON- IDENTICAL ATOMS IN A MOLECULE: The atoms which make up the molecules do not have the same number of protons (+ve) and electrons (-ve). This results in uneven sharing of the electrons between the atoms in the molecule at any given time.. Therefore, the atoms in the molecule acquire a slight positive charge in one end and a slight negative charge on the other end. This create a two polar forces within the molecule, which we call dipoles. This leads to attraction between two molecules, pulling them together. Now, this attraction happens most strongly when polar molecules, containing dipole dipole forces, are properly oriented. CONSIDER THE CASE OF IDENTICAL ATOMS IN A MOLECULE (NON-POLAR): Even in this case there is a not an equal sharing of the pair of electrons in the bond between identical atoms, since at some moments the electrons are closer to one atom ,and at other moments 6

the electrons are closer to the other atom in the bond. This creates a temporary dipole effect within the molecule. This dipole will induce dipoles in other neighbouring molecules. Hence, there is attraction between the molecules due to weak induced dipole- induced dipole attraction. This is also known as London Dispersion forces. As the size of the molecules increases, the number of electrons (negative charges) increases, and the induced dipole- induced dipole attraction becomes stronger. Therefore, this will explain why the melting point and boiling point of molecules increase with the size of the molecule. As such , we can say that VAN DER WAALS FORCES are weak intermolecular forces that exist between molecules. 2. HYDROGEN BONDING REQUIREMENT for HYDROGEN BONDING: Within the molecule, the presence of: a. Hydrogen b. A highly ELECTRONEGATIVE ATOM Fluorine (F), Oxygen (O), Nitrogen (N). The bond is a form of dipole dipole attraction between polar molecules given the above conditions. That is, polar molecules that contain HYDROGEN (H) in the COVALENT BOND with a HIGHLY ELECTRONEGATIVE atom (F, O, N). So, if there is no H or no F, or no O, or no N in the molecule, there is no Hydrogen Bonding. Here the highly electronegative atom draws the electrons that form the bond (bonding electrons) away from the hydrogen atom and closer to itself. This results in a polar covalent bond within the molecule. The hydrogen atom acquires a relative small positive charge within the molecule and the highly electronegative atom relative small negative charge. This is a dipole. It is intra molecular. The hydrogen atom with its positive charge is attracted to a lone pair on the highly electronegative of a neighboring molecule forming a bond called a HYDROGEN BOND. The electrostatic force of attraction between the hydrogen atom of one molecule and a highly electronegative atom of another molecule is called a HYDROGEN BOND. The hydrogen bond is much weaker than the normal covalent bond. However, it still accounts for the abnormal properties of water (H2O) , as compared to molecules that do not contain a highly electronegative atom like hydrogen sulphide (H2S). EXAMPLE Covalent bond Within the same molecule (INTRAMOLECULAR) + H --------F- H+ --------F- H+ --------F Hydrogen bond Between the different molecules.(INTERMOLECULAR ) OTHER EXAMPLES: H2O, NH3,