"A chemical bond is a lasting attraction between atoms or ions that enables the formation of molecules, crystals, and other structures."
The forces that hold atoms together in molecules and compounds. This topic covers the different types of chemical bonds, including covalent, ionic, and metallic bonds, as well as the rules that govern their formation and properties.
Atomic structure: The basic unit of matter, the atom, is made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons. Understanding the arrangement and behavior of these particles is crucial to understanding chemical bonding.
Valence electrons: Outermost electrons that are involved in chemical bonding. Atoms with the same number of valence electrons have similar chemical properties.
Ionic bonding: Bonding between atoms that involves the transferring of electrons. Ionic bonds form between metals and nonmetals.
Covalent bonding: Bonding between atoms that involves the sharing of electrons. Covalent bonds form between nonmetals.
Polar covalent bonding: A type of covalent bond in which the electrons are shared unequally between two atoms, resulting in a slightly positive and slightly negative end.
Nonpolar covalent bonding: A type of covalent bond in which the electrons are shared equally between two atoms, resulting in a neutral molecule.
Metallic bonding: Bonding between metals in which the outermost electrons are delocalized and shared by all the atoms in the metal.
Hybridization: A process in which the atomic orbitals of an atom are combined to form new hybrid orbitals. This process is important in explaining the shapes of molecules.
Intermolecular forces: Forces of attraction between molecules. These forces include dipole-dipole forces, hydrogen bonding, and London dispersion forces.
Lewis structures: Diagrams that show the bonding between atoms in a molecule and the arrangement of electrons around each atom. These structures are useful for predicting the properties and behavior of molecules.
VSEPR theory: A theory that explains the shapes of molecules based on the repulsion between electron pairs in the valence shell of the central atom.
Molecular orbitals: Orbitals that describe the behavior of electrons in a molecule as a whole. The combination of atomic orbitals gives rise to molecular orbitals.
Bond order: The number of bonds between two atoms in a molecule. This is determined by the number of electrons involved in the bond.
Resonance structures: Structures that represent the average of all possible Lewis structures for a molecule. These structures are important in understanding the stability and reactivity of molecules.
Molecular polarity: The presence or absence of a dipole moment in a molecule. This property is important in determining the behavior of molecules in chemical reactions.
Chemical reactions: The process by which one or more substances are transformed into new substances. Chemical bonds play a crucial role in these reactions.
Covalent Bonds: These bonds are formed when two or more atoms share electrons to form a stable molecule.
Ionic Bonds: These bonds are formed when two oppositely charged ions attract each other and form a stable compound.
Metallic Bonds: These bonds are formed between metal atoms and are characterized by a shared pool of electrons that move freely throughout the metal structure.
Hydrogen Bonds: These bonds are formed between a partially positive hydrogen atom and a partially negative atom in another molecule. These bonds are relatively weak, but they are important for many biological processes.
Van der Waals Forces: These are weak intermolecular forces that arise due to temporary dipoles in molecules.
Dipole-Dipole Interactions: These are intermolecular forces between two polar molecules.
London Dispersion Forces: These are intermolecular forces that arise from the fluctuating electron density in a molecule.
Pi Bonds: Pi bonds are formed when two orbitals with parallel p-orbitals overlap and share electrons.
Sigma Bonds: Sigma bonds are formed when two orbitals with s-orbitals overlap and share electrons.
Double Bonds: Double bonds are formed when two pairs of electrons are shared between two atoms.
Triple Bonds: Triple bonds are formed when three pairs of electrons are shared between two atoms.
Coordinate Covalent Bond: This is a covalent bond where one atom contributes both electrons to the bond.
Resonance: Resonance occurs when there are multiple valid Lewis structures for a molecule, indicating that the actual bonding is a hybrid of these structures.
"The bond may result from the electrostatic force between oppositely charged ions as in ionic bonds."
"The bond may result from...the sharing of electrons as in covalent bonds."
"There are 'strong bonds' or 'primary bonds' such as covalent, ionic and metallic bonds."
"There are 'weak bonds' or 'secondary bonds' such as dipole-dipole interactions, the London dispersion force, and hydrogen bonding."
"The negatively charged electrons surrounding the nucleus and the positively charged protons within a nucleus attract each other."
"Electrons shared between two nuclei will be attracted to both of them."
"Constructive quantum mechanical wavefunction interference stabilizes the paired nuclei."
"Bonded nuclei maintain an optimal distance (the bond distance) balancing attractive and repulsive effects explained quantitatively by quantum theory."
"The atoms in molecules, crystals, metals, and other forms of matter are held together by chemical bonds."
"All bonds can be described by quantum theory, but, in practice, simplified rules and other theories allow chemists to predict the strength, directionality, and polarity of bonds."
"The octet rule and VSEPR theory are examples."
"More sophisticated theories are valence bond theory, which includes orbital hybridization and resonance."
"More sophisticated theories...include molecular orbital theory, which includes the linear combination of atomic orbitals and ligand field theory."
"Electrostatics are used to describe bond polarities and the effects they have on chemical substances."
"The strength of chemical bonds varies considerably."
"The octet rule is an example [of a theory] that allows chemists to predict the strength, directionality, and polarity of bonds."
"The VSEPR theory is an example [of a theory] that allows chemists to predict the strength, directionality, and polarity of bonds."
"Orbital hybridization is a component of valence bond theory."
"Ligand field theory is a component of molecular orbital theory."