Binary hydrides classification

A short description of these different hydride categories will be given here below. However, before going any further, it may be useful to quote from Greenwood and Earnshaw (1997) a few remarks which may be relevant also when considering the description and the classification of other families of compounds. Greenwood and Earnshaw underlined that one criterion usually adopted for grouping the binary... 

Chapter 9 Binary hydrides classification and general properties 251... 

Hydrogen combines with most of the chemical elements. Here we concentrate on binary hydrides of the typical elements, ignoring those of the transition elements, lanthanides and actinides, which often have metallic properties and so resemble alloys. Binary hydrides are compounds of hydrogen and one other element. A useful classification of the highest hydrides of the typical elements is shown in Figure 5.9. It divides them into three classes salt-like, macromolecular and molecular. 

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