Sodium chloride ionic bonding

Interactive Figure To see an animation of sodium chloride ionic bond formation, visit qlencoe.com. 

Ionic bonding was proposed by the German physicist Walther Kossel in 1916 in or der to explain the ability of substances such as molten sodium chloride to conduct an electric current He was the son of Albrecht Kossel winner of the 1910 Nobel Prize in physiology or medi cine for early studies in nu cleic acids... 

The ionic bond is the most obvious sort of electrostatic attraction between positive and negative charges. It is typified by cohesion in sodium chloride. Other alkali halides (such as lithium fluoride), oxides (magnesia, alumina) and components of cement (hydrated carbonates and oxides) are wholly or partly held together by ionic bonds. 

Fig. 4.3. The formation of an ionic bond - in this case between a sodium atom and a chlorine atom, making sodium chloride.

Chemists refer to the bond in a molecule like sodium chloride as ionic , meaning that its electron pair resides entirely on chlorine. At the other extreme is the covalent bond in the hydrogen molecule, where the electron pair is shared equally between the two hydrogens. Intermediate cases, such as the bond in hydrogen fluoride which is clearly polarized toward fluorine, are generally referred to as polar covalent bonds (rather than partially ionic bonds). Are these situations really all different or do they instead represent different degrees of the same thing ... 

The ionic model, the description of bonding in terms of ions, is particularly appropriate for describing binary compounds formed from a metallic element, especially an s-block metal, and a nonmetallic element. An ionic solid is an assembly of cations and anions stacked together in a regular array. In sodium chloride, sodium ions alternate with chloride ions, and large numbers of oppositely charged ions are lined up in all three dimensions (Fig. 2.1). Ionic solids are examples of crystalline... 

In the classroom, ionic bonding is mostly introduced by the example of simple ionic substances like sodium chloride. Starting from the electronic configuration of... 

When sodium reacts with chlorine to form NaCl, an electron moves from a sodium atom to a chlorine atom. The result is a compound composed of sodium ions and chloride ions, Na Ch, held together by an ionic bond. Ionic bonds do not hold molecules together by sharing electrons they hold them together because of the electrostatic attraction between the two oppositely charged ions. 

Sodium chloride and many similar compounds are said to be ionic compounds held together by ionic bonds. However, even though the term ionic bond is widely used, it is a... 

Based on the ionic radii, nine of the alkali halides should not have the sodium chloride structure. However, only three, CsCl, CsBr, and Csl, do not have the sodium chloride structure. This means that the hard sphere approach to ionic arrangement is inadequate. It should be mentioned that it does predict the correct arrangement of ions in the majority of cases. It is a guide, not an infallible rule. One of the factors that is not included is related to the fact that the electron clouds of ions have some ability to be deformed. This electronic polarizability leads to additional forces of the types that were discussed in the previous chapter. Distorting the electron cloud of an anion leads to part of its electron density being drawn toward the cations surrounding it. In essence, there is some sharing of electron density as a result. Thus the bond has become partially covalent. 

The aggregation of vacancies or interstitials into dislocation loops will depend critically upon the nature of the crystal structure. Thus, ionic crystals such as sodium chloride, NaCl, or moderately ionic crystals such as corundum, AI2O3, or rutile, TiC>2, will show different propensities to form dislocation loops, and the most favorable planes will depend upon chemical bonding considerations. 

The sodium chloride structure is adopted by a large number of compounds, from the ionic alkali halides NaCl and KC1, to covalent sulfides such as PbS, or metallic oxides such as titanium oxide, TiO. Slip and dislocation structures in these materials will vary according to the type chemical bonding that prevails. Thus, slip on 100 may be preferred when ionic character is suppressed, as it is in the more metallic materials. 

Chlorine gas is very reactive, and causes horrific bums to the eyes and throat see p. 243. The two atoms are held together by means of a single, non-polar covalent bond. CI2 has a yellow-green colour and, for a gas, is relatively dense at s.t.p. Conversely, table salt (sodium chloride) is an ionic solid comprising Na+ and Cl- ions, held together in a three-dimensional array. What is the reason for their differences in behaviour ... 

The electron has transferred and in no way is it shared. Sodium chloride is a compound held together with an ionic bond, the strength of the bond coming from an electrostatic interaction between the positive and negative charges on the ions. 

It is quite difficult to measure an accurate enthalpy of solution A//( olutioni with a calorimeter, but we can measure it indirectly. Consider the example of sodium chloride, NaCl. The ions in solid NaCl are held together in a tight array by strong ionic bonds. While dissolving in water, the ionic bonds holding the constituent ions of Na+ and Cl- in place break, and new bonds form between the ions and molecules of water to yield hydrated species. Most simple ions are surrounded with six water molecules, like the [Na(H20)6]+ ion (VI). Exceptions include the proton with four water molecules (see p. 235) and lanthanide ions with eight. 

Formation of the ionic bond between sodium and chloride ions in the NaCl crystal. 

For each of the substances the possible answers are ionic bonding, covalent bonding, metallic bonding, hydrogen bonding, dipole-dipole force, or London force. Forces, such as ion-dipole forces and ion-induced dipole forces, are not choices because these require the presence of two or more substances. For example, sodium chloride cannot utilize either of these two forces, but sodium chloride in water can. (Sodium chloride in water exhibits ion-dipole forces.)... 

The ions that conduct the electrical current can result from a couple of sources. They may result from the dissociation of an ionically bonded substance (a salt). If sodium chloride (NaCl) is dissolved in water, it dissociates into the sodium cation (Na+) and the chloride anion (CL). But certain covalently bonded substances may also produce ions if dissolved in water, a process called ionization. For example, acids, both inorganic and organic, will produce ions when dissolved in water. Some acids, such as hydrochloric acid (HC1), will essentially completely ionize. Others, such as acetic acid (CH3COOH), will only partially ionize. They establish an equilibrium with the ions and the unionized species (see Chapter 13 for more on chemical equilibrium). 

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