Matter and its Structure

INTRAMOLECULAR FORCES
- This type of attractive force describes the attraction of atoms within the
molecule.

Covalent Bond
o The image shows ELECTRON SHARING
o It is resulting from two nuclei attracting the same shared
electrons.
o This type of chemical bond occurs between two non-metal
atom such as what the illustration depicts (two hydrogens
and an oxygen atom bond)

Ionic Bond
• The image shows ELECTRON TRANSFER
• This type of chemical bond occurs between
non-metal and metal atom (Sodium
Chlorine)

Metallic Bond
• The image shows ELECTRON POOLING
• This type of chemical bond occurs between two metal
atoms (The illustration given is chemical bond among
elements of aluminum.
• It is the electrostatic attraction between the positively
charged atomic nuclei of metal atoms and the
delocalized electrons in the metal.

Electronegativity (EN)
- Measure of the relative tendency of an atom to attract electrons to itself when
chemically combined with another atom. The higher the value of electronegativity, the
more it tends to attract electrons toward itself.
Polar covalent bonds occur when electron pairs are unequally shared.

Example:
HCl EN of H = 2.1 EN of Cl = 3.0 ΔEN = 0.9
HF EN of H = 2.1 EN of F = 4.0 ΔEN = 1.9

The separation of charges makes the bond polar. It creates an electric dipole. Dipole
refers to “two poles,” meaning there is a positive and a negative pole within a molecule.
Elements with the higher EN value become the partial negative pole while elements with
the lower EN value become the partial positive pole. This makes the molecule a polar
molecule.

Non-polar covalent bonds occur when electron pairs are shared equally or the
difference in electronegativity between atoms is less than 0.5.

Example:
H2 EN of H = 2.1 ΔEN = 0.0 NON-POLAR MOLECULE; not a dipole
Cl2 EN of Cl = 3.0 ΔEN = 0.0 NON-POLAR MOLECULE; not a dipole

INTERMOLECULAR FORCES
- Relatively weaker than the forces within the molecules forming bonds.

Ion-ion Dipole Interaction

Ion-ion interaction exists between
oppositely charged ions. It occurs between
ionic compounds. Most ion-ion interaction
is strong and compounds which have them
have high melting and boiling points.

Ions of like charges repel while opposite

charges attract. The compound orients itself
in such a way as to minimize repulsion. This
is the strongest intermolecular force.

The table above shows that the smaller ions have stronger ion-ion interaction compared
to larger ions
Dipole-dipole Interaction
Occurs between polar molecules. This is due to the partial positive pole and the partial
negative pole of the molecule. Average dipole-dipole interaction is relatively weak,
around 4kJ/ mol. This interaction is effective over a very short range.

The figure above shows the partially

charged poles of the molecules, and
the attraction and repulsion
between them. Both attraction and repulsion occur simultaneously.

Hydrogen Bond
Hydrogen bond is a very strong dipole-dipole interaction. Hydrogen bond occurs in polar
molecules containing H and any one of the highly electronegative elements, in particular
F, O, N. Hydrogen tends to be strongly positive due to the strong tendencies of F, O, or
N to attract the electron towards it. The highly electronegative elements make hydrogen
strongly positive. Hydrogen bonding is responsible for the unusually high boiling point
and melting point of water as compared to compounds of similar molecular weight and
geometry.

Dispersion Forces or London Forces

Dispersion force is present in all molecules. It is the only
force present in nonpolar molecules. It is very weak and acts
in very small distances. It is formed due to the attraction
between the positively charged nucleus of an atom with the
negatively charged electron cloud of a nearby atom. This
interaction creates an induced dipole. Without dispersion
forces substances would not be able to condense to liquid
and solid phase.