Larissa Rubarajan 12FC

Structure and Bonding Report

Covalent Bonding
Covalent bonding is the sharing of a pair of electrons between two non-
metals to achieve stable electron configurations. A covalent bond
involves the electrostatic attraction between the nuclei of two atoms and
the bonding electrons of their outer shells. No electrons are transferred
but only shared in this type of bonding. Non-metals are able to share
pairs of electrons to form different types of covalent bonds. Sharing
electrons in the covalent bond allows each of the 2 atoms to achieve an
electron configuration similar to a noble gas: making each atom more
stable.

Type of covalent bond Number of electrons shared

Single (C-C) 2

Double (C=C) 4

Triple (C C) 6

Bond Energy
The bond energy is the energy required to break one mole of a particular
covalent bond in gaseous states and has units of kJmol-1 . The larger the
bond energy, the stronger the covalent bond is. The average bond
enthalpy is also used as a measurement of the strength of a covalent
Larissa Rubarajan 12FC

bond and is the average amount of energy needed to break a specific

type of bond, measured over a wide variety of different molecules.
Bond length
The bond length is the internuclear distance of two covalently bonded
atoms and is the distance from the nucleus of one atom to another atom
which forms the covalent bond. The greater the forces of attraction
between electrons and nuclei, the more the atoms are pulled closer to
each other; decreasing the bond length of a molecule and increasing the
strength of the covalent bond. An example is triple bonds: they are the
shortest and strongest covalent bonds due to
the large electron density between the nuclei
of the two atoms, increasing the forces of
attraction between the electrons and nuclei of
the atoms. Resulting in the atoms being pulled
closer together causing a shorter bond length
which increases the forces of attraction
meaning that the covalent bond will be
stronger.

Dot and cross diagrams

These are used to represent covalent bonding but only show the outer
shell of the atoms involved. To differentiate between the two atoms, dots
for electrons of the atom and crosses for electrons of the other atoms
are used, and other shapes may be used too if necessary. Electrons are
shown in pairs on dot-and-cross diagrams.
Larissa Rubarajan 12FC
Larissa Rubarajan 12FC

Dative Covalent Bonding

In simple covalent bonds, the two atoms involved share electrons. Some
molecules have a lone pair of electrons that can be donated to form a
bond with an electron-deficient atom, an atom that has an unfilled outer
orbital, so both electrons are from the same atom. This type of bonding
is called dative covalent bonding. An example with a dative bond is an
ammonium ion – the H+ ion is electron deficient and has space for two
electrons in its shell, the nitrogen atom in ammonia has a lone pair of
electrons which it can donate to the hydrogen ion to form a dative
covalent bond.