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Ionic bonding is a type of chemical bonding that involves the electrostatic attraction between oppositely charged ions, or between two atoms with sharply different electronegativities, [1] and is the primary interaction occurring in ionic compounds. It is one of the main types of bonding, along with covalent bonding and metallic bonding. Ions ...
Although the bond in a compound like X+Y- may be considered to be 100% ionic, it will always have some degree of covalent character. When two oppositely charged ions (X+ and Y-) approach each other, the cation attracts electrons in the outermost shell of the anion but repels the positively charged nucleus.
Covalent and ionic bonding form a continuum, with ionic character increasing with increasing difference in the electronegativity of the participating atoms. Covalent bonding corresponds to sharing of a pair of electrons between two atoms of essentially equal electronegativity (for example, C–C and C–H bonds in aliphatic hydrocarbons).
The classical model identifies three main types of chemical bonds — ionic, covalent, and metallic — distinguished by the degree of charge separation between participating atoms. [3] The characteristics of the bond formed can be predicted by the properties of constituent atoms, namely electronegativity.
Opposite to covalent bonding, this chemical bond creates two oppositely charged ions. The metals in ionic bonding usually lose their valence electrons, becoming a positively charged cation . The nonmetal will gain the electrons from the metal, making the nonmetal a negatively charged anion .
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. [21] Ionic bonding leads to separate positive and negative ions. Ionic charges are commonly between −3e to +3e.
The circumstances under which a compound will have ionic or covalent character can typically be understood using Fajans' rules, which use only charges and the sizes of each ion. According to these rules, compounds with the most ionic character will have large positive ions with a low charge, bonded to a small negative ion with a high charge. [25]
In organic chemistry, covalent bonding is much more common than ionic bonding. Covalent bonding also includes many kinds of interactions, including σ-bonding, π-bonding, metal-to-metal bonding, agostic interactions, bent bonds, three-center two-electron bonds and three-center four-electron bonds. [2] [3] The term covalent bond dates from 1939 ...