ATOMS COMBINING
A completely filled outer shell (valence shell) of an atom makes them
stable.
If atoms of an element have full filled outer shell,
They will be unreactive
They will be monoatomic eg: Helium, Neon, etc
If atoms have incomplete outer shell, they will combine with other atoms
to achieve a full filled outer shell.
Atoms can combine together in different ways:
o Ionic bonding
o Covalent bonding
o Metallic bonding
Ionic bonding (Electrovalent bond)
ION:
An electrically charged particle formed from an atom or group of atoms by loss or
gain of electrons.
Cation: Positive ion formed by the loss of one or more electrons.
Na Na+ + electron
Anion: Negative ion formed by gaining one or more electrons.
Cl + electron C
Ionic bond
The ionic bond is the force of attraction or bond that forms between ions of
opposite charge.
This is based on the electrostatic force of attraction between the ions.
Ionic bond is formed between the group I elements and halogens (group
VII)
Ionic bond involves electron transfer between metals and non-metals.
Example:
1.Formation of sodium chloride.
Sodium, in group 1, has 1 electron in its outer shell. Chlorine, in group 7, has
7 electrons in its outer shell.
Sodium loses 1 electrons, and gains a +1 positive charge.
Chlorine gains 1 electrons, and gains a -1 negative charge. They have
bonded to form Sodium Chloride.
2.Formation of potassium sulfide
Formula of potassium sulfide
Symbol K S
Valency 1 2
3.Formation of Aluminium bromide
Formula of aluminium bromide
Symbol Al Br
Valency 3 1
4.Formation of Aluminium oxide
Formula of aluminium oxide
Symbol Al O
Valency 3 2
Structure of ionic compound
In ionic compounds (compounds formed through ionic bonding), the strong
attractive forces between the positive and negative ions result in the formation
of a giant ionic structure. This ions are regularly arranged in what is known as a
lattice
Lattice is the three dimensional regular arrangement of ions in an ionic
compound. In the lattice each ion is surrounded by ions of the opposite charge.
All ionic compounds have giant lattice structure.
Eg:
When sodium chloride is formed by ionic bonding, billions and billions of Na+ and
Cl- ions are formed and are attracted to each other. These ions cluster together so
that each sodium ion is surrounded by 6 chloride ions and each chloride ion is
surrounded by 6 sodium ions as well.
Properties of ionic compounds
PROPERTIES EXPLANATION IN TERMS OF STRUCTURE
Hard crystals Strong electrostatic force of attraction
between ions which makes ionic
compounds hard
High melting and high boiling Strong electrostatic force of attraction
point between the ions, thus requires large
amount of energy to break the strong
ionic bond.
Solubility: Ionic compounds are Water also forms strong electrostatic
soluble in water attraction with the ions. Ions are
attracted by the particles of water
Conductivity: In solid state the strong
Solid state of ionic electrostatic force will not allow
compound will not the ions to freely move.
conduct electricity The ions are free to move in
Molten and aqueous state aqueous and molten state of the
of ionic compounds compound and thus conduct
conduct electricity electricity
Ionic compounds are non-volatile
Non-volatile due to the strong attractive force
between the ions.
Covalent Bonds
A covalent bond forms when two non-metal atoms share a pair of electrons. The
electrons involved are in the outer shells of the atoms. An atom that shares one
or more of its electrons will complete its outer shell.
Covalent bonds are formed when electrons are shared between atoms
Only non-metal elements participate in covalent bonding
Each atom gains a full outer shell of electrons
When two or more atoms are chemically bonded together, we describe
them as ‘molecules’
Example : Hydrogen chloride HCl
After bonding, the chlorine atom is now in contact with eight electrons in its outer shell,
so it is stable. The hydrogen atom is now in contact with two electrons in its outer shell,
so it is also stable.
Both nuclei are strongly attracted to the shared pair of electrons in the covalent
bond, so covalent bonds are very strong and require lot of energy to break.
Nitrogen (N2)
Ammonia (NH3)
Covalent Compounds
Covalently bonded substances fall into two main types:
1. simple molecules
2. giant covalent structures
Simple molecules contain only a few atoms held together by covalent bonds. An
example is carbon dioxide (CO2), the molecules of which contain one atom of
carbon bonded with two atoms of oxygen.
However, although the covalent bonds holding the atoms together in a simple
molecule are strong, the intermolecular forces between simple molecules
are weak.
Properties of simple molecular substances
Low melting and boiling points - this is because little energy is needed to break
the weak intermolecular forces.
Do not conduct electricity - this is because they do not have any
free electrons or ions to carry electrical charge.
Generally they do not dissolve in water
Giant covalent structures
Giant covalent structures contains many atoms, each joined to adjacent atoms
by covalent bonds. The atoms are usually arranged into giant regular lattices -
extremely strong structures because of the many bonds involved.
Examples : graphite and diamond (two allotropes of carbon) , Silicon dioxide
(Allotrophy : The property of an element to exist in more than one physical form
with the same chemical properties is called allotrophy.)
Graphite
each carbon atom is joined to three other carbon atoms by covalent bonds
the carbon atoms form layers with a hexagonal arrangement of atoms
the layers have weak forces between them
each carbon atom has one non-bonded outer electron, which
becomes delocalized (free electrons)
Properties and uses
The delocalised electrons are free to move through the structure, so
graphite can conduct electricity. This makes graphite useful
for electrodes in batteries and for electrolysis.
The layers in graphite can slide over each other because the forces between
them are weak. This makes graphite slippery, so it is useful as a lubricant.
Diamond
each carbon atom is joined to four other carbon atoms by covalent bonds
the carbon atoms have a regular lattice arrangement forming a tetrahedral
shape
there are no free electrons ( cannot conduct electricity)
Properties and uses
The rigid structure, held together by strong covalent bonds, makes
diamond very hard. This physical property makes diamond useful for
cutting tools, such as diamond-tipped glass cutters and oil rig drills.
It has very high melting and boiling point since it consist of giant molecular
structure.
It sparkles when cut and therefore used for jewellery.
Silica (or silicon dioxide)
In the silicon dioxide structure, each silicon atom is bonded to four oxygen atoms but each
oxygen atom is bonded to two silicon atoms. Silicon dioxide has a similar structure to
diamond. It forms very hard colourless crystals and has a high melting and boiling point
Properties
It cannot conduct electricity because there are no delocalized or free electrons
in it to carry charge
It has a very high melting point because it consists of a giant structure of
atoms.
