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Chapter 7

Chemical Bonding

The Big Question……

Why do atoms lose, gain or share
electrons
in a reaction???

Answer: Atoms react to achieve the

most stable state possible, which is that
of noble gases!

How many valence electrons do noble

gases have??? 8!

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Octet Rule
A complete octet is FULL s- and p-orbitals in the
valence shell!

Octet Rule:
§ Main group elements (s- and p-block elements) tend to
undergo reactions that leave them with 8 valence electrons
§ is associated with the stability of the noble gases
§ does not occur with H and He; they are stable with 2 valence
electrons.

Noble gases Valence Electrons

He 1s2 2
Ne 1s22s22p6 8
Ar 1s22s22p63s23p6 8
Kr 1s22s22p63s23p63d104s24p6 8

Formation of an Ionic Compound NaCl

Na+ + Cl− NaCl

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Exceptions to the Octet Rule

— Two electrons

— Less than octet

— More than octet

— Transition metals (d-block elements)

Chemical Bonding
Three basic types of bonds
–Ionic
Electrostatic attraction
between ions.
–Covalent
Sharing of electrons.

–Metallic
Metal atoms bonded to
several other atoms.

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Ionic Bonding
— Metals tend to lose electrons and
nonmetals gain electrons to make them
isoelectronic to the noble gases.

— Formation of ionic compounds is

exothermic.

Covalent Bonding
— A covalent bond is based on the sharing of
electron pairs between two atoms.

— Driving force behind any bond formation is

lowering of overall energy.

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Polar/Nonpolar Covalent Bonds

— The electrons in a covalent bond are NOT always

shared equally.

• A nonpolar covalent bond results from equal or nearly equal

sharing of electrons.
• A polar covalent bond results from unequal sharing of electrons.

Electronegativity

— On the periodic table, electronegativity generally

increases as you go
– increases from left to right across a period.
– decreases from top to bottom in a group.

The greater the difference in electronegativity,

the more polar is the bond.

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The Electronegativities of Common Elements

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Example
— In HF molecule, F is more electronegative than H.
Therefore, F pulls harder on the electrons it shares
with H.
— Therefore, the fluorine has more electron density than
the hydrogen. This results in a polar covalent bond.

electron rich
electron poor
region e- poor e- rich
region

H F

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Classification of bonds by difference in

electronegativity (ΔEN)
ΔEN (approx. difference) Bond Type
0 to 0.4 Nonpolar Covalent
0.5 to 1.9 Polar Covalent
2 or greater Ionic

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Important properties relating

to polarity

• Solubility:
Polar molecules dissolve in polar solvents;
Nonpolar molecules dissolve in nonpolar solvents.
o Oil (nonpolar) and water (polar) don’t mix
o Ammonia (polar) dissolves in water

• Melting and boiling points

o Polar substances have high intermolecular forces:
o Melting and boiling points are higher than that of
nonpolar substances

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Is a Compound Ionic or Covalent?

— Simplest approach:
Metal + nonmetal = Ionic Compound
Nonmetal + Nonmetal = Covalent Compound

— Electronegativity difference can be used; the table still

doesn’t take into account oxidation number.

— Properties of compounds are often best: Lower melting

points mean covalent bonding.

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Chemical Bonds and Energy

— Bond energy:

q Itis the energy released when isolated atoms

form a covalent bond.
q Once a bond is formed, the same amount of
energy is needed to break the bond apart.
q Bond energies vary depending on the bonding atoms involved.

— Bond length - the distance between the nuclei

of the bonding atoms where the potential
energy is at a minimum.

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Double and Triple bonds

— Bonding atoms in molecules can share more than
one bonding pair of electrons.
◦ A double bond results when two bonding pairs are
shared.

◦ A triple bond results when three bonding pairs are

shared.

◦ Strength of the covalent bond increases as the number

of bonding pairs increases.

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Lewis Dot Symbol

— Lewis dot symbols keep track of valence

electrons, especially for main group elements,
allowing prediction of bonding in molecules.

◦ To draw a Lewis dot symbol, the valence electrons are

represented by dots and are placed around the element
symbol.

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Chemical Bonds and the Structure of Molecules

By sharing an electron from each atom, two hydrogen atoms can

form a covalent bond.
Hydrogen violates the octet rule by sharing only two electrons.

When two fluorine atoms combine, they form a stable covalent bond.

By sharing a pair of electrons, each atom is surrounded by eight valence

electrons.

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Lewis Structures
Lewis structures indicate how many bonds are formed and between
which elements in a compound.

— Step 1 - Count the total valence electrons in the molecule.

— Step 2 – Draw the “skeletal structure of the molecule by placing

the least electronegative atom at the center. Then draw single
bonds between all atoms in the structure.

— Step 3 – Complete octet of electrons for the outer atoms

— Step 4: Place the remaining electrons (if any) on the central atom.

— Step 5: If the central atom does not complete an octet, then draw
multiple bonds by moving electrons from the outer atoms.

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Lewis Dot Structures for

Covalent Compounds

• NH3 • PCl5

• CO2 • HCN

• O3 • CH2O

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Exceptions to the Octet Rule

The incomplete octet: BF3

B = 3e- 3 single bonds (3x2) = 6

3F = 3x7e- F B F 9 lone pairs (9x2) = 18
24e- Total = 24
F

The expanded octet: SF6

F
- F F
S = 6e 6 single bonds (6x2) = 12
6F = 42e- S 18 lone pairs (18x2) = 36
48e- Total = 48
F F
F
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Resonance Structures
— The bonding in some molecules or polyatomic ions
cannot be described by a single Lewis structure.
— Resonance structures are equivalent structures
of a single molecule/ion, where the only difference
is the position of the double bond and lone pairs.
— The true structure (resonance hybrid) is an
average of these contributing structures.
— Example: Ozone (O3)

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Lewis Dot Structures for

Polyatomic Ions

• Carbonate – CO32-

• Ammonium – NH4+

• Phosphate – PO43-

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VSEPR Theory
Valence-shell electron-pair repulsion (VSEPR) model
predicts the shapes of molecules and polyatomic ions.

Regions of high electron density around the central atom are

arranged as far apart as possible to minimize electron repulsions.
• Lone pairs of electrons (unshared pairs) occupy more volume than
shared pairs (bonds).
– Consequently, there is an ordering of repulsions of electrons
around central atom.
• Criteria for the ordering of the repulsions:
1 Lone pair to lone pair is the strongest repulsion.
2 Lone pair to bonding pair is intermediate repulsion.
3 Bonding pair to bonding pair is weakest repulsion.

Molecular geometry (shape) determined by the arrangement

of atoms around the central atom(s).

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Molecular Geometry
— Two regions of high electron density around the central atom.

• Three regions of high electron density around the central atom.

• Four regions of high electron density around the central

atom.

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— Five regions of high electron density around

the central atom.

• Six regions of high electron density around the

central atom.

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lone-pair vs. lone pair lone-pair vs. bonding bonding-pair vs. bonding
repulsion
> pair repulsion
> pair repulsion

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— Predict the bond angle in PCl3

◦ 109.5
◦ Less than 109.5
◦ Greater than 109.5

— Predict the molecular geometry

(shape) of ClO2− ion.
◦ Linear
◦ Bent
◦ Trigonal planar

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Metallic Bonding
The electron-sea model

The valence electrons do not belong to any

specific atoms (not localized) but delocalize
throughout the whole crystal structure.

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The electron-sea model

The electrons are mobile

The positive ions are stationary

The electrostatic attractive forces between the

delocalized electron cloud and the positive ions
are called the metallic bonds.

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The metallic bond strength increases with:

1. decreasing size of the metal atom

2. increasing number of valence electrons

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