Lecture Presentation

Essentials of
Chemical Bonding

James F. Kirby
Quinnipiac University
Hamden, CT
© 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.
 • A. The Octet Rule
• Electron shell filling
• B. Ionic
• i. Bond formation
• ii. Physical properties of compounds
• C. Covalent
• i. Bond formation
• ii. Physical properties of compounds
• D. Metallic
• i. Bond formation
• ii. Physical properties of metals
© 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.
 Chemical Bonds

© 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.

 Chemical Bonds
• Three basic types of bonds
– Ionic
• Electrostatic attraction
between ions
– Covalent
• Sharing of electrons
– Metallic
• Free electron hold metal
atoms together

Basic Concepts
of Chemical
Bonding
© 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.
 Chemical Bonding: An Overview

Valence electrons play a fundamental role in

chemical bonding.
When metals and nonmetals combine, valence
electrons usually are transferred from the metal to the
nonmetal atoms, giving rise to ionic bonds.
In combinations involving only nonmetals, one or
more pairs of valence electrons are shared between
the bonded atoms, producing covalent bonds.
In losing, gaining, or sharing electrons to form
chemical bonds, atoms tend to acquire the electron
configurations of noble gases.
Basic Concepts
of Chemical
Bonding
© 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.
 Lewis Symbols

• G. N. Lewis developed a method to denote potential

bonding electrons by using one dot for every valence
electron around the element symbol.
• When forming compounds, atoms tend to gain, lose, or
share electrons until they are surrounded by eight valence
electrons (the octet rule).
Basic Concepts
of Chemical
Bonding
© 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.
 Ionic Bonding
• Metals and nonmetals (except group 8A)
• Electron transfer
• Very exothermic

Basic Concepts
of Chemical
Bonding
© 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.
 Ionic Bonding
• One element readily gives up an electron
(has a LOW ionization energy).
• Another element readily gains an electron
(has a HIGH electron affinity).
• Arrow(s) indicate the transfer of the
electron(s).

Basic Concepts
of Chemical
Bonding
© 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.
 Properties of Ionic Substances

• Evidence of well-defined
3-D structures:
– Brittle
– High melting points
– Crystalline
– Cleave along smooth
lines

Basic Concepts
of Chemical
Bonding
© 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.
 Electron Configuration of Ions
• Main group metals lose electrons, resulting in the
electron configuration of the previous
noble gas.
• Nonmetals gain electrons, resulting in the electron
configuration of the nearest noble gas.
• Transition metals do NOT follow the Octet rule.
• Transition metals lose the VALENCE electrons FIRST,
THEN lose the d- electrons necessary for the given ion
charge.

Basic Concepts
of Chemical
Bonding
© 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.
 Covalent Bonding
• In covalent bonds, atoms
share electrons.
• There are several electrostatic
interactions in these bonds:
– Attractions between electrons
and nuclei
– Repulsions between electrons
– Repulsions between nuclei
• For a bond to form, the
attractions must be greater
than the repulsions.
Basic Concepts
of Chemical
Bonding
© 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.
 © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

Basic Concepts
of Chemical
Bonding
© 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.
 Lewis Structures
• Sharing electrons to make covalent bonds can be
demonstrated using Lewis structures.
• We start by trying to give each atom the same
number of electrons as the nearest noble gas by
sharing electrons.
• The simplest examples are for hydrogen, H2, and
chlorine, Cl2, shown below.

Basic Concepts
of Chemical
Bonding
© 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.
 Number of Bonds for Nonmetals
• The group number is the number of valence
electrons.
• To get an octet, like the nearest noble gas, in the
simplest covalent molecules for nonmetals, the
number of bonds needed will be the same as the
electrons needed to complete the octet.

Basic Concepts
of Chemical
Bonding
© 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.
 Electrons on Lewis Structures

• Lone pairs: electrons located on only

one atom in a Lewis structure
• Bonding pairs: shared electrons in a
Lewis structure; they can be
represented by two dots or one line,
NOT both!

Basic Concepts
of Chemical
Bonding
© 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.
 Electronegativity
• Electronegativity is the ability of an atom in a
molecule to attract electrons to itself.
• On the periodic table, electronegativity generally
increases as you go:
– from left to right across a period.
– from the bottom to the top of a group.

Basic Concepts
of Chemical
Bonding
© 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.
 Is a Compound Ionic or Covalent?
• Simplest approach: Metal + nonmetal is ionic; nonmetal +
nonmetal is covalent.
• There are many exceptions: It doesn’t take into account
oxidation number of a metal (higher oxidation numbers can
give covalent bonding).
• 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, for example.

Basic Concepts
of Chemical
Bonding
© 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.
 Metallic Bonding

• One can think of a metal

as a group of cations
suspended in a sea of
electrons (known as the
electron-sea model).
• The electrical and
thermal conductivity,
ductility, and malleability
of metals is explained by
this model.
Basic Concepts
of Chemical
Bonding
© 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.
 Basic Concepts
of Chemical
Bonding
© 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.