MODULE 2

CHEMICAL BONDING
Chemical Bond is the net force of attraction that hold the atoms together in a compound. Atoms
bond because (1) they want to be stable, and (2) to obtain electrons needed to fill the outer level of
electrons.
Three ways atom can combine:
▪ Ionic bonding – metal and non-metal
▪ Covalent bonding – non-metals
▪ Metallic bonding – metals

Lewis Symbols
G.N. Lewis developed a method to denote potential bonding electrons by using one dot for
every valence electron around the element symbol.

N Nitrogen has 6 valence electrons

When forming compounds, atoms tend to gain, lose, or share electrons until they are
surrounded by eight valence electrons (octet rule).

EXAMPLES:

anion formed when sulfur atom accepts electrons cation formed when an Rb atom loses an electron
-2 Sulfur has 6 valence electrons. It +1
S accepted 2 electrons to satisfy
the octet rule. Thus, having a -2
charge. Rb
Rubidium has 1 valence
electron. It lost 1 electron. Thus,
having a +1 charge.

anion formed when nitrogen atom accepts electrons anion formed when iodine atom accepts electrons

-2 Nitrogen has 5 valence electrons. -1 Iodine has 7 valence electrons. It

N It accepted 3 electrons to satisfy

the octet rule. Thus, having a -3
charge.
I accepted 1 electron to satisfy
the octet rule. Thus, having a -1
charge.
 Periodic Trends
▪ Ionization energy is the energy needed to
remove electrons from the atom.
▪ Atomic radius is the measure of the size of the
atom.
▪ Nuclear charge is the total charge in the
nucleus for all the protons.
▪ Electron affinity is the ability of an atom to
attract electrons.

Electronegativity Difference
The electronegativity difference is a convenient estimate of the ionic character of a chemical
bond.

ΔEN Classification
>2 Ionic bond
0.5-1.9 Polar covalent
0-0.4 Nonpolar covalent

EXAMPLE: HCl: H = 2.1, Cl = 3.0; 3.0 – 2.1 = 0.9, Polar covalent

Lattice Energy
Lattice Energy is defined as the amount of energy required to completely separate one mole
of a solid ionic compound into gaseous ions.
Conditions:
The higher the ion charges, the stronger the bond; the shorter the distance between ions, the
stronger the bond.
The lattice energy is proportional to the product of the charges of the ions and inversely
proportional to the distance of separation between the ions.
The larger the lattice energy, the harder to separate the ions, the higher the melting point.
EXAMPLES:

What is expected to have a higher melting point between LiF and NaF?
LiF is expected to have a higher melting point since the distance between Li and F is
shorter compared to Na and F. Li and F are both on the 2nd period while Na and F are on
the 3rd and 2nd period, respectively.

Arrange the melting points of the following ionic compounds n decreasing order: LiF,
LiBr, LiI, and LiCl
LiF, LiCl, LiBr, LiI
Properties of Ionic Bonding
Structure Crystalline Solids
Melting Point Generally high
Boiling point Generally high
Electrical conductivity Excellent conductors, molten, and aqueous
Solubility Generally soluble

Covalent Bonding
In covalent bonds, atoms share electrons. Electrostatic interactions in these bonds include
attractions between electrons end nuclei, repulsions between electrons, and repulsion between nuclei.
For a bond to form, the attractions must be greater than repulsions.

Lewis Structures
Lewis structures help demonstrate the sharing of electrons to make covalent bonds. The
simplest examples are for hydrogen, H2, and chlorine, Cl2.

Steps:
1. Find the total number of valence electron. Add an electron for every negative charge.
Subtract an electron for every positive charge

PCl3 – 5 + 3(7) = 26 electrons

2. Decide the central atom (least electronegative except H) and draw bonds. Subtract the
electron used from Step 1.

26 – 6 = 20 electrons
 3. Assign the leftover electrons to the terminal atoms. Subtract the electron from the total in
Step 2.

20 – 18 = 2 electrons
4. If necessary, assign any leftover electron to the central atom. If the central atom has an octet
or exceeds an octet, you are usually done.

2 – 2 = 0 electron

5. If the central atom doesn’t have an octet, create multiple bonds.

Electrons on Lewis Structures

▪ Lone pairs are the electrons located on only one atom in a Lewis structure
▪ Bonding pairs are the shared electrons in a Lewis structure; they can be represented by two
lines or a line

EXAMPLES:

XeF5 SiF4
 Types of Covalent Bond
▪ Non-polar bonds – electrons shared evenly in the bond and e-neg difference is zero
▪ Polar bond – electrons shared unevenly in the bond

Resonance
We use multiple structures, resonance structures, to describe the molecule because one Lewis
structure cannot accurately depict a molecule such as ozone.

Criteria for choosing the more important resonance structure

▪ Smaller charges (either + or -) are preferable to larger charges
▪ Avoid like charges (+ + or - -) on adjacent atoms
▪ A more negative formal charge should exist on an atom with a larger EN value
EXAMPLE:

-2 0 +1 -1 0 0 0 0 -1

Exceptions on the Octet Rule

▪ Ions or molecules with an odd number of electrons
▪ Ions or molecules with less than an octet
▪ Ions or molecules with more than an octet (expanded octet)