CHEMICAL

BONDING
Ms Mehwish Qayyum
 WHAT IS CHEMICAL BONDING?

• Chemical bonding refers to the formation of a chemical bond between two or more atoms,
molecules, or ions to give rise to a chemical compound. These chemical bonds are what keep
the atoms together in the resulting compound.

• The attractive force which holds various constituents (atom, ions, etc.) together and stabilizes
them by the overall loss of energy is known as chemical bonding. Therefore, it can be understood that
chemical compounds are reliant on the strength of the chemical bonds between its constituents; the
stronger the bonding between the constituents, the more stable the resulting compound would be.
• The opposite also holds true; if the chemical bonding between the constituents is weak, the resulting compound
would lack stability and would easily undergo another reaction to give a more stable chemical compound
(containing stronger bonds). To find stability, the atoms try to lose their energy.
• Whenever matter interacts with another form of matter, a force is exerted on one by the other. When the forces are
attractive in nature, the energy decreases. When the forces are repulsive in nature, the energy increases. The
attractive force that binds two atoms together is known as the chemical bond.
 Important theories on chemical bonding

• Albrecht Kössel

and

Gilbert Lewis
were the first to explain the formation of chemical bonds
successfully in the year 1916. They explained chemical
bonding on the basis of the inertness of noble gases.
 LEWIS THEORY OF CHEMICAL BONDING

• An atom can be viewed as a positively charged ‘kernel’ (the nucleus plus the inner electrons) and the outer
shell.
• The outer shell can accommodate a maximum of eight electrons only.

• The eight electrons present in the outer shell occupy the corners of a cube which surround the ‘kernel’.

• The atoms having octet configuration, i.e., 8 electrons in the outermost shell, thus symbolize a stable
configuration.
• Atoms can achieve this stable configuration by forming chemical bonds with other atoms. This chemical bond can be
formed either by gaining or losing an electron(s) (NaCl, MgCl2) or in some cases due to the sharing of an electron.
 LEWIS THEORY OF CHEMICAL BONDING

• Only the electrons present in the outer shell, also known as the valence electrons take part in the formation of
chemical bonds. Gilbert Lewis used specific notations better known as Lewis symbols to represent these valence
electrons.
• Generally, the valency of an element is either equal to the number of dots in the corresponding Lewis symbol

• Lewis symbols for lithium (1 electron), oxygen (6 electrons), neon (8 electrons) are given below:

Here, the number of dots that surround the respective symbol represents the number of valence electrons in
that atom.
 Kossel’s theory of chemical bonding

• Noble gases separate the highly electronegative halogens and the highly electropositive alkali
metals.
• Halogens can form negatively charged ions by gaining an electron. Whereas alkali metals can form
positively charged ions by losing an electron.
• These negatively charged ions and positively charged ions have a noble gas configuration that is 8 electrons in
the outermost shell. The general electronic configuration of noble gases (except helium) is given by ns2np6.
• As unlike charges attract each other these unlike charged particles are held together by a strong force of
electrostatic attraction existing between them. For example, MgCl2, the magnesium ion, and chlorine ions are
held together by force of electrostatic attraction. This kind of chemical bonding existing between two unlike
charged particles is known as an electrovalent bond.
 Types of chemical bonds

• When substances participate in chemical bonding and yield compounds, the stability of the resulting compound can be
determined by the type of chemical bonds it contains.
• The type of chemical bonds formed vary in strength and properties. There are different types of chemical bonds which are
formed by atoms or molecules to yield compounds. These types of chemical bonds include:
• Ionic bonds
• Covalent bonds
• Coordinate bond
• Hydrogen bonds
• Polar bonds
• These types of bonds in chemical bonding are formed from the loss, gain, or sharing of electrons between two
atoms/molecules.
 Ionic bonding

• Ionic bonding is a type of chemical bonding which involves a transfer of electrons from one atom or molecule to
another. Here, an atom loses an electron which is in turn gained by another atom. When such an electron transfer
takes place, one of the atoms develops a negative charge and is now called the anion.
• The other atom develops a positive charge and is called the cation. The ionic bond gains strength from the difference in
charge between the two atoms, i.e. The greater the charge difference between the cation and the anion, the stronger
the ionic bond.
 Covalent bonding

• A covalent bond indicates the sharing of electrons between atoms. Compounds that contain carbon (also called
organic compounds) commonly exhibit this type of chemical bonding. The pair of electrons which are shared by the two
atoms now extend around the nuclei of atoms, leading to the creation of a molecule.
Covalent bonding
 Coordinate bond

• A coordinate bond (also called a dative covalent bond) is a covalent bond (a shared pair of electrons) in which both
electrons come from the same atom. A covalent bond is formed by two atoms sharing a pair of electrons. The atoms are
held together because the electron pair is attracted by both of the nuclei. In the formation of a simple covalent bond, each
atom supplies one electron to the bond - but that does not have to be the case.
Below we have given a simple diagram of a co-ordinate bond. The bond is shown by an arrow which points in the direction
where an atom is donating the lone pair to the atom that is receiving it.
 POLAR COVALENT BONDING

• Covalent bonds can be either be polar or non-polar in nature. In polar covalent chemical bonding, electrons are
shared unequally since the more electronegative atom pulls the electron pair closer to itself and away from the less
electronegative atom. Water is an example of such a polar molecule.
• A difference in charge arises in different areas of the atom due to the uneven spacing of the electrons between the atoms.
One end of the molecule tends to be partially positively charged and the other end tends to be partially negatively
charged
 HYDROGEN BONDING

• Compared to ionic and covalent bonding, hydrogen bonding is a weaker form of chemical bonding. It is a type of
polar covalent bonding between oxygen and hydrogen wherein the hydrogen develops a partial positive charge.
This implies that the electrons are pulled closer to the more electronegative oxygen atom.
• This creates a tendency for the hydrogen to be attracted towards the negative charges of any neighboring atom. This
type of chemical bonding is called a hydrogen bond and is responsible for many of the properties exhibited by water.
 BOND CHARACTERISTICS

• BOND LENGTH
• During chemical bonding, when the atoms come closer to each other, the attraction takes place between them and the
potential energy of the system keeps on decreasing till a particular distance at which the potential energy is minimum. If
the atoms come more closer, repulsion starts and again the potential energy of the system begins to increase.
• At equilibrium distance, the atoms keep on vibrating about their mean position. The equilibrium distance
between the centers of the nuclei of the two bonded atoms is called its bond length.
• It is expressed in terms of an Angstrom (a0) or picometer (pm). It is determined experimentally by x-ray diffraction or
electron diffraction method or spectroscopic method. The bond length in chemical bonding is the sum of their ionic
radii, in an ionic compound. In a covalent compound, it is the sum of their covalent radii. For a covalent molecule
AB, the bond length is given by d= ra + rb
• Factors affecting the bond length

• Size of the atoms: The bond length increases with increase in the size of the atom. HI > HBr > HCl > HF

• The multiplicity of bond: The bond length decreases with an increase in bond order.

• Type of hybridization: A ‘s’ orbital is smaller in size, greater the ‘s’ character, shorter is the bond length.
 BOND ENERGIES

• Bond energy or bond strength is defined as the amount of energy required to break a bond in a molecule. Bond
energies depend upon the type of bond as well as the structural environment in which the bond is situated. They are
determined by quantitative measurements of heats of chemical reactions and by spectroscopic methods. The unit of bond
energy is Kcal/mole or KJ/mole.