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In simpler words, an ionic bond results from the transfer of electrons from a metal to a non-metal to obtain a full valence shell for both atoms. Clean ionic bonding — in which one atom or molecule completely transfers an electron to another — cannot exist: all ionic compounds have some degree of covalent bonding or electron
The most common type of ionic bonding is seen in compounds of metals and nonmetals (except noble gases, which rarely form chemical compounds). Metals are characterized by having a small number of electrons in excess of a stable, closed-shell electronic configuration. As such, they have the tendency to lose these extra electrons in order to ...
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]
By contrast, in ionic compounds, the locations of the binding electrons and their charges are static. The free movement or delocalization of bonding electrons leads to classical metallic properties such as luster (surface light reflectivity), electrical and thermal conductivity, ductility, and high tensile strength.
A solid compound containing metals can also be an insulator if the valence electrons of the metal atoms are used to form ionic bonds. For example, although elemental sodium is a metal, solid sodium chloride is an insulator, because the valence electron of sodium is transferred to chlorine to form an ionic bond, and thus that electron cannot be ...
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).
Ionic compounds can also be produced from their constituent ions by evaporation of their solvent, precipitation, freezing, a solid-state reaction, or the electron transfer reaction of reactive metals with reactive non-metals, such as halogen gases. Ionic compounds typically have high melting and boiling points, and are hard and brittle.
An electride is an ionic compound in which an electron serves the role of the anion. [1] Solutions of alkali metals in ammonia are electride salts. [2] In the case of sodium, these blue solutions consist of [Na(NH 3) 6] + and solvated electrons: Na + 6 NH 3 → [Na(NH 3) 6] + + e −. The cation [Na(NH 3) 6] + is an octahedral coordination ...