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Covalent Bonding???
What is it?
A form of chemical bonding Between two non metallic atoms Characterized by the sharing of pairs of electrons Between atoms and other covalent bonds

A General Rule

But

What Exceptions?

Aluminium Chloride
Actually

Just that it has a higher degree of covalence

Note
Cation= Positive Ion Anion=Negative Ion

Aluminium Chloride
Cations are very polarizing Anions are very polarisable The higher the charge of the cation will increase the degree of distortion of the electron cloud surrounding the anion Thus aluminium chloride becomes very electron deficient What more, it has a +3 oxidation state Thus, it is more electronegative in this state Its polarity becomes small enough to be considered covalent

What More
For both Aluminium Chloride and Beryllium Chloride, the anions are smaller than the cations, thus the total transfer of electrons gives them a condition of stability. In large cations the electron is far away initially. In small anions the electron gets an opportunity to get close to the positive nucleus it seeks. However, when it's a small cation, the electron is close to the nucleus initially, making it stable. With the anion, the electron will be quite far from the nucleus, reducing the possibility of the electron going to the anion. In such a case, a covalent bond is a better option to form.

Sources

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_aluminium_chloride_a_coval

ent_or_ionic_bond http://www.diffen.com/difference/Covalent_Bonds_vs_Io nic_Bonds http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_is_aluminum_chloride_co valent_rather_than_ionic http://scienceforums.com/topic/7660ioniccovalent/#post124405 Google Images

Thanks for your attention!

Any Questions? :D