Single-bond ionicity

Although the S—O bond lengths in sulphoxides and sulphones seem to indicate that these are covalent double bonds, the dipole moments of these compounds obtained by calculation or by experimental measurements support the semipolar single-bond character in these compounds, and they should be represented as S - O, with about 66% ionic character14,15. 

The four structures with three double bonds (third row) and the one with four double bonds are the most plausible Lewis structures, (b) The structure with four double bonds fits these observations best, (c) +7 the structure with all single bonds fits this criterion best, (d) Approaches (a) and (b) are consistent but approach (c) is not. This result is reasonable because oxidation numbers are assigned by assuming ionic bonding. 2.109 The alkyne group has the stiffer C—H bond because a large force constant, k, results in a higher-frequency absorption. 

The discussion of interatomic distances in salts of oxygen acids of the second-row elements is presented in Table IV. In the first row of this table, below the names of the salts, there are given values of the electronegativity difference xa — xb, in the second row the sum of the single-bond radii, in the third row the Schomaker-Stevenson correction, and in the fourth row the single-bond interatomic distance. The next row contains the fractional amount of ionic character of the a bond, as given by the electronegativity difference with use of Table... 

There is, of course, a close relation between atomic arrangement and bond type. Thus the four single bonds of a carbon atom are directed toward the comers of a tetrahedron But tetrahedral and octahedral configurations are also assumed in ionic compounds, so that it is by no means always possible to deduce the bond type from a knowledge of the atomic arrangement. 

It is customary to use the line between two atomic symbols, A—B, to represent a normal covalent bond, with the usual amount of ionic character. In the discussion that follows, A B is used to represent a pure covalent single bond, and A+B to represent the ionic structure that is hybridized with A B to give A—B. A pure covalent double bond is represented by A=B. Thus in the molecule NF3 we might describe each NF bond as involving N+ F , N F , and N F +, that is, as having some covalent double-bond character. 

Distinguish between each of the following pairs (a) an ion and an ionic bond, (b) an ion and a free atom, (c) a covalent bond and an ionic bond, (cl) a triple bond and three single bonds on the same atom, (e) a polyatomic molecule and a polyatomic ion. 

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