Chemical Bonding

Chemical Bonding

Chemical bonding is the process by which atoms share or exchange electrons to form a chemical compound.

Types of Chemical Bonds

• Ionic Bonds: Formed by the transfer of electrons between atoms, resulting in the formation of ions with opposite charges.
  • Electronegative atoms (e.g. Cl, O) tend to gain electrons, becoming anions.
  • Electropositive atoms (e.g. Na, Ca) tend to lose electrons, becoming cations.
• Covalent Bonds: Formed by the sharing of electrons between atoms.
  • Polar Covalent Bonds: Formed when electrons are shared unequally, resulting in a partial positive charge on one atom and a partial negative charge on the other.
  • Nonpolar Covalent Bonds: Formed when electrons are shared equally, resulting in no net dipole moment.
• Hydrogen Bonds: A type of intermolecular force that arises from the attraction between a hydrogen atom bonded to a highly electronegative atom (e.g. O, N, F) and another electronegative atom.

Bonding Theories

• Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion (VSEPR) Theory: Predicts the shape of molecules based on the arrangement of electron pairs around the central atom.
• Molecular Orbital (MO) Theory: Describes the distribution of electrons in molecules in terms of molecular orbitals.
• Valence Bond (VB) Theory: Describes the formation of bonds in terms of the overlap of atomic orbitals.

Bond Properties

• Bond Length: The distance between the nuclei of two bonded atoms.
• Bond Angle: The angle formed by two bonded atoms and the central atom.
• Bond Order: The number of pairs of electrons shared between two atoms.
• Bond Polarity: The difference in electronegativity between two bonded atoms, affecting the distribution of electrons.

Molecular Shape and Polarity

• Molecular Shape: The arrangement of atoms in a molecule, influenced by VSEPR theory.
• Molecular Polarity: The overall polarity of a molecule, dependent on the polarity of individual bonds and the molecular shape.