Facebook Instagram Youtube Twitter

Ionic Bond vs Covalent Bond – Definition

A covalent bond is a chemical bond formed by shared electrons. An ionic bond is a chemical bond, in which one or more electrons are wholly transferred from an atom of one element to the atom of the other.
atomic and chemical bonds
Three different types of primary or chemical bond are found in solids. The strength of chemical bonds varies considerably; there are “primary bonds” or “strong bonds” such as ionic, covalent and metallic bonds, and “weak bonds” or “secondary bonds” such as dipole–dipole interactions, the London dispersion force and hydrogen bonding.

A chemical bond is a lasting attraction between these atoms, ions or molecules that enables the formation of chemical compounds. The bond may result from the electrostatic force of attraction between oppositely charged ions as in ionic bonds or through the sharing of electrons as in covalent bonds. Therefore, the electromagnetic force plays a major role in determining the internal properties of most objects encountered in daily life.

Intramolecular bonds

  • Ionic bond. An ionic bond is a chemical bond, in which one or more electrons are wholly transferred from an atom of one element to the atom of the other, and the elements are held together by the force of attraction due to the opposite polarity of the charge. This type of chemical bond is typical between elements with a large electronegativity difference.
  • Covalent bond. A covalent bond is a chemical bond formed by shared electrons. Valence electrons are shared when an atom needs electrons to complete its outer shell and can share those electrons with its neighbor. The electrons are then part of both atoms and both shells are filled.
  • Metallic bond. A metallic bond is a chemical bond, in which the atoms do not share or exchange electrons to bond together. Instead, many electrons (roughly one for each atom) are more or less free to move throughout the metal, so that each electron can interact with many of the fixed atoms.

Ionic Bond

ionic bond - characteristicsAn ionic bond is a chemical bond, in which one or more electrons are wholly transferred from an atom of one element to the atom of the other, and the elements are held together by the force of attraction due to the opposite polarity of the charge. This type of chemical bond is typical between elements with a large electronegativity difference (i.e. elements situated at the horizontal extremities of the periodic table). An ionic bond is always found in compounds composed of both metallic and nonmetallic elements. There is no precise value that distinguishes ionic from covalent bonding, but an electronegativity difference of over 1.7 is likely to be ionic while a difference of less than 1.7 is likely to be covalent.

Ionic bonding leads to separate positive and negative ions. In the process, all the atoms acquire stable or inert gas configurations (i.e., completely filled orbital shells) and, in addition, an electrical charge – that is, they become ions. For example, common table salt is sodium chloride. Sodium chloride (NaCl) is the classic ionic material. A sodium atom can assume the electron structure of neon by a transfer of its one valence 3s electron to a chlorine atom. After such a transfer, the chlorine ion acquires a net negative charge, an electron configuration identical to that of argon; it is also larger than the chlorine atom. These ions are then attracted to each other in a 1:1 ratio to form sodium chloride (NaCl).

Na + Cl → Na+ + Cl− → NaCl

Ionic compounds conduct electricity when molten or in solution, typically as a solid. Ionic compounds generally have a high melting point, depending on the charge of the ions they consist of. The higher the charges the stronger the cohesive forces and the higher the melting point. They also tend to be soluble in water; the stronger the cohesive forces, the lower the solubility.

Covalent Bond

covalent bond - characteristicsA covalent bond is a chemical bond formed by shared electrons. Valence electrons are shared when an atom needs electrons to complete its outer shell and can share those electrons with its neighbor. The electrons are then part of both atoms and both shells are filled. These electron pairs are known as shared pairs or bonding pairs, and the stable balance of attractive and repulsive forces between atoms, when they share electrons, is known as covalent bonding.

The simplest and most common type is a single bond in which two atoms share two electrons. Other types include the double bond (e.g. H2C=CH2), the triple bond, one- and three-electron bonds, the three-center two-electron bond and three-center four-electron bond.

Covalency is greatest between atoms of similar electronegativities. Thus, covalent bonding does not necessarily require that the two atoms be of the same elements, only that they be of comparable electronegativity (i.e. elements that lie near one another in the periodic table). There is no precise value that distinguishes ionic from covalent bonding, but an electronegativity difference of over 1.7 is likely to be ionic while a difference of less than 1.7 is likely to be covalent.

References:
Materials Science:
  1. U.S. Department of Energy, Material Science. DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Volume 1 and 2. January 1993.
  2. U.S. Department of Energy, Material Science. DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Volume 2 and 2. January 1993.
  3. William D. Callister, David G. Rethwisch. Materials Science and Engineering: An Introduction 9th Edition, Wiley; 9 edition (December 4, 2013), ISBN-13: 978-1118324578.
  4. Eberhart, Mark (2003). Why Things Break: Understanding the World by the Way It Comes Apart. Harmony. ISBN 978-1-4000-4760-4.
  5. Gaskell, David R. (1995). Introduction to the Thermodynamics of Materials (4th ed.). Taylor and Francis Publishing. ISBN 978-1-56032-992-3.
  6. González-Viñas, W. & Mancini, H.L. (2004). An Introduction to Materials Science. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-07097-1.
  7. Ashby, Michael; Hugh Shercliff; David Cebon (2007). Materials: engineering, science, processing and design (1st ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 978-0-7506-8391-3.
  8. J. R. Lamarsh, A. J. Baratta, Introduction to Nuclear Engineering, 3d ed., Prentice-Hall, 2001, ISBN: 0-201-82498-1.

See above:

Chemical Bond

We hope, this article, Ionic Bond vs Covalent Bond, helps you. If so, give us a like in the sidebar. Main purpose of this website is to help the public to learn some interesting and important information about materials and their properties.