IONIC BONDING

CHEMICAL REACTIONS
The noble gas structure (full outer shell) is
the most stable structure and chemicals
react in order to obtain that structure
There are 2 ways in which elements can
obtain the noble gas structure
1. Gaining or losing electrons
2. Sharing electrons
Gaining or losing electrons
When an atom gains or loses an electron it no
longer has the same number of protons and
electrons
It is no longer neutral
It is no longer known as an atom but is now an
ion
When an atom loses one or more electrons it
has more protons than electrons.
It becomes a positive ion
Positive ions are called cations
For example Na atom loses one electron
to become Na+ (note the atom is written
without a charge but the ion is written
with its charge)
Na --> Na+ + e-
Magnesium loses two electrons to become
Mg2+
Mg --> Mg2+ + 2e-
Atoms with one, two or 3 electrons in the outer
shell lose electrons to become cations
Atoms which lose electrons in chemical
reactions are known as metals
Group I, II and III elements are all metals
Write the cations formed from the following
atoms
1. Potassium(19)
2. Calcium (20)
3. Aluminium (13)
4. Francium (87)
Atoms which have 4 electrons in their
outer shell share electrons
Atoms which have 5 to 7 electrons in
their outer shell gain or share electrons
When an atom gains an electron it has
more electrons than protons and it
becomes a negative ion known as
an anion
Atoms which have 4 or more electrons in their
outer shell are known as non metals (noble
gases are non metals)
For example
Chlorine (in group 7) needs one electron
to have a full outer shell).
Cl atom becomes the ion Cl-

Cl + e-  Cl-
Oxygen (in group 6) needs two electrons
to have a full outer shell. Oxygen atom
becomes O2- ion
O + 2e-  O2-
Nitrogen (in group 5) needs three electrons
to have full outer shell. N atom becomes
N3- ion
N + 3 e-  N3-
Write the ion formed by the following atoms
1. Lithium (3)
2. Phosphorus (15)
3. Fluorine (9)
4. Barium (56)
State whether each of these is a metal or non
metal and write the ion formed by each
1) Phosphorus (15)
2) Barium (56)
3) Chlorine (17)
4) Caesium (55)
5) Kryton (36)
When a metal and non metal react together
they form an ionic compound
The metal loses electrons and forms positive ion
and the non metal gains electrons and forms
negative ions
The ions are strongly attracted to each other and
build up a strong network or lattice of ions
IONIC BONDING

Most ionic compounds contain a metal and a non-metal.

When metals react they lose outer shell electrons to leave a full electron
shell.

This produces a charged atom (ion) with a + charge.

Lose 1 or more n+
electrons
Neutral atom Positive ion

When non-metals react with a metal they gain electrons to achieve a full
electron shell.

Gain 1 or more n-
electrons
Neutral atom Negative ion
Opposites attract – lattices

The oppositely charged ions are attracted into a

lattice that gets bigger and bigger until it consists
of millions of ions

+
+ + + - +
+ - + -
+ opposites
+
+ - +
- - attract
- -
- And ion, and
-
ion, and ion!
Lattices are 3-Dimensional

We have shown ions attracting and

+ - +
building into a 2 dimensional sheet. - + -
+ - +
In fact the whole process will be
going on in three dimensions to
build up a giant 3-D lattice. + - +
- - +
- - ++
- +
+ - +
And so on to -+ +- -+ +- -+ +- + -- ++ -
build a giant 3- - + -
- + - + - + + - +
D lattice with +- -+ +- -+ +- -+
millions of + - + - + -
-+ +- -+ +- -+ +-
ions. - + - + - +
 Naming ionic compounds
The cation is always first in the name and is the
same as the name as the metal
If the anion is the ion of an element it is given
the suffix –ide
e.g. oxygen becomes oxide
Sulfur becomes sulfide
Bromine becomes bromide
When oxygen and magnesium combine the
compound is called magnesium oxide
Write the name of the following ionic
compounds
- When iron and sulfur mix
- When chlorine and sodium mix
- When potassium and nitrogen mix
- When oxygen and aluminium mix
• Let us look more closely at how ionic
compounds are formed
Formation of sodium chloride
1. Formation of sodium ions

Sodium has 1 electron in its outer shell.

If it loses this it will have no partially filled shells.

Loses 1
Na electron Na+

Sodium atom (2.8.1) Sodium 1+ ion (2.8.0)

This only happens if there is another atom able to accommodate the lost
electron.
Formation of sodium chloride
2.Formation of Chloride ions
Chlorine has 7 electrons in its outer shell.
If it gains 1 electron it can achieve a full outer electron shell. It is, therefore,
going to be able to accept the electron that the sodium wants to lose.

Cl Cl
Gains 1 electron
(from sodium)

Chlorine atom (2.8.7) Chlorine I - ion (2.8.8)

A dot-cross diagram shows the electrons of one
element as crosses and the electrons of a
second element as dots.
If an electron moves from one element to
another it is still shown as it was in the original
element
Remember, however, that all electrons are
identical.
When showing ions in dot – cross diagrams, a
bracket is drawn around each ion and the
charge of the ion is written at the top right
hand corner of the ion
• + -
• Note that any compound formed must be
neutral. There must be the same number of
positive and negative charges. The total
number of electrons lost by the metal must
equal the total number of electrons gained by
the non metal
Formation of Sodium Chloride- the overall process.

Sodium loses its

outer electron.
Chlorine gains it. Cl
Na
The result is
both end up with
full shells

Two oppositely
charged ions
are formed,
which attract.
Millions of such Cl
Na
pairs form a
giant lattice
Because one sodium atom has given its electron
to one chlorine atom the substance has the
formula
Na+ Cl-
NaCl
Bonding in Magnesium Oxide
More than one electron may be transferred
between atoms in ionic bonding.

Mg
O

Magnesium Oxide
2.8.2. 2.6

Magnesium Oxygen
atom atom
Mg2+ O2-

2.8 2.8
One magnesium atom has given two electrons
to one oxygen atom
The formula is Mg 2+O2-
Copy the diagram and draw another box showing
the electron configuration in sodium fluoride.

Na
F

2.8.1. 2.7 Sodium Fluoride

Sodium Fluorine
atom atom
Na+ F-

2.8 2.8
 + -

Na ion Fluoride

Formula Na + F-
When lithium and oxygen combine it is a little
more complicated
Lithium needs to lose one electron
Oxygen needs to gain two electrons
Two lithium atoms each donate an electron to
oxygen
Bonding in Lithium Oxide
The bonding in lithium oxide is more complicated in that
there are different numbers of each atom.

Li

O
Li+
Li
O2-

Li+
 + 2- +

Li atom O atom Li atom

Because two lithium atoms have each donated
an electron to one oxygen atom the formula
is Li + 2 O2-
Consider Lithium Nitride
Lithium is in Group 1 and needs to lose one
electron.
Nitrogen is in Group 5 and needs to gain 3
electrons.
Bonding in Lithium Nitride
The bonding in lithium nitride similarly involves different
numbers of each atom.

Li Li

N
Li Li+ N3-

Li Li+
Because three lithium atoms have each donated
one electron to one nitrogen atom we have
the formula
Li+3 N3-
Li 3 N
Activity

Following the previously shown slides draw bonding

diagrams for the compounds formed from the
following atoms:
1. Lithium (2.1) and fluorine (2.7)
2. Sodium (2.8.1) and sulphur (2.8.6)
3. Magnesium (2.8.2) and sulphur (2.8.6)
4. Magnesium (2.8.2) and fluorine (2.7)
5. Aluminium (2.8.3) and nitrogen (2.5)

Remember that the total number of

electrons lost by the metal must equal
the total number of electrons gained by
the non-metal
Simpler electron diagrams

We can assume full inner electron shells.

We can therefore sometimes shorten bonding diagrams
by omitting to draw the inner electron shells.

Na Cl

Na Cl
It takes a long time to draw dot cross diagrams
to show chemical bonding
We use chemical formula which tells us which
atoms are in a compound and how many of
each atom there are.
As with naming the compounds we always write
the cation first.
We put the number of atoms involved in the
compound as a subscript after the ion involved
If the number = 1 it is left out
Consider sodium chloride
It has one sodium and one chlorine atom
It is written as NaCl
Consider Magnesium oxide
It has one magnesium and one oxygen atom
It is written as MgO
Different numbers of electrons

Consider the reaction of sodium with oxygen.

– Sodium (2.8.1) needs to lose 1 electron.
– Oxygen (2.6) needs to gain 2 electrons

This can only happen if there are two sodium ions formed
for every one oxygen ion formed.

Na Na+
1 electron per O O2-
sodium
Na+
Na

The formula will be Na2O.

Activity

Work out the chemical formula for the following

chemicals
1. Lithium (2.1) and fluorine (2.7)
2. Sodium (2.8.1) and sulphur (2.8.6)
3. Magnesium (2.8.2) and sulphur (2.8.6)
4. Magnesium (2.8.2) and fluorine (2.7)
5. Aluminium (2.8.3) and nitrogen (2.5)

Remember that the total number of

electrons lost by the metal must equal
the total number of electrons gained by
the non-metal
The formulae of ionic compounds
This is most quickly done in 5 stages.
Remember the total + and – charges must =zero
For example, the formula of calcium bromide.

1. Symbols: Ca Br
2. Charge on ions 2+ 1-
3. Need more of Br
4. Ratio of ions 1 2
5. Formula CaBr2

Br Br-
Ca2+
Ca
Br-
Br
2 electrons
The formulae of ionic compounds
For example, the formula of aluminium bromide.

1. Symbols: Al Br
2. Charge on ions 3+ 1-
3. Need more of Br
4. Ratio of ions 1 3
5. Formula AlBr3

Br Br-

Al Br Al3+ Br-

Br Br-
3 electrons
Not all ions are formed from elements
Sometimes a group of atoms join together to
form an ion that is very stable and does not
change in chemical reactions.
Most of these ions are anions
You need to learn the
- Name
- Formula
- Charge
of these ions
More Complicated Formulae
• Ionic compounds may contain ions consisting of
groups of atoms rather than a single atom.
• Here are some more complicated ions you may
come across.

Ion Formula Charge Atoms present

nitrate NO3- 1- N O O O

sulphate SO42- 2- S O O O O

ammonium NH4+ 1+ N H H H H

hydroxide OH- 1- O H

carbonate CO32- 2- C O O O
• Hydrogen carbonate HCO3-
More Complicated Formulae

• When working out formula you simply treat the entire

group of atoms as though it were a single atom.
• The only difficulty is to do with how we write down the
final answer.
• For example, what is the formula of lithium nitrate?

1. Symbols: Li NO3-
2. Charge on ions 1+ 1-
3. Need more of neither
4. Ratio of ions 1 1
5. Formula LiNO3
• When working out the formula the ion is
treated as an ion formed from an atom with
the same charge
When working with these ions a bracket must be
put around the whole ion to show when there
are two or more of them. No bracket is
required when there is only one of them
e.g. Sodium hydroxide NaOH
Calcium hydroxide Ca(OH)2
Ammonium chloride NH4Cl
Ammonium sulfate (NH4)2SO4
More Complicated Formulae
• What is the formula of magnesium nitrate?

1. Symbols: Mg NO3-
2. Charge on ions 2+ 1-
3. Need more of NO3-
4. Ratio of ions 1 2
5. Formula Mg(NO3)2

• The brackets around the NO3- ion show that the 2 refers to two complete
NO3- ions.
• It represents a total of 2 nitrogens and 6 oxygens with each magnesium ion.
More Complicated Formulae
• What is the formula of sodium sulphate?

1. Symbols: Na+ SO42-

2. Charge on ions 1+ 2-
3. Need more of Na+
4. Ratio of ions 2 1
5. Formula Na2SO4

• No brackets here as only one SO42- ion needed.

• Note although Na contains 2 letters it only represents a single atom – so no
brackets!
Write down how to work out the formula of
aluminium hydroxide.

1. Symbols: Al3+ OH-

2. Charge on ions
3+ 1-
3. Need more of
4. Ratio of ions OH-
5. Formula 1 3
Al(OH)3

Again we need brackets as 3 complete OH- ions are needed meaning

that for each aluminium there are 3 oxygens and 3 hydrogens.
Write down how to work out the formula of
aluminium sulphate.

1. Symbols: Al3+ SO42-

2. Charge on ions
3+ 2-
3. Need more of
Need to get total
charge =6
4. Ratio of ions
5. Formula
2 3

Al2(SO4)3

No brackets for Al as only one atom even though it’s 2 letters.

We do need brackets around the SO4 to show it is 3 complete sulphate ions.
 Valency
This is a chemical term used to give the
combining power of an atom or ion.
It is positive or negative
For ions it is equal to their charge
For atoms it is equal to the charge of the ion
they would make
• E.g Magnesium and magnesium ions both
have valency of +2
• Chlorine and chlorine ion both have valency of
-1
• Sulfate ion has valency of -2
 PROPERTIES OF IONIC COMPOUNDS

1. They are hard solids. This is because there is

such strong bonds between all the particles.
2. They have high melting and boiling points.
This is because of the strong bonds between
the particles.
3. They have low volatility (do not evaporate
easily)
4.They are soluble in water. This is because the
water molecules can break the bonds
between the ions so ions are free to move in
water
5. Solid ionic compounds do not conduct
electricity. This is because the charged
particles are fixed in place and cannot carry a
charge.
6. Molten or aqueous (dissolved in water) ionic
compound do conduct electricity. This is
because the ions are free to move and can
carry a charge.