Ionic Bonding

Ionic Bonding

Fundamentals of Ionic Bonding

• Ionic bonding is the type of bonding that takes place when a metal reacts with a non-metal.
• This type of bonding involves the transfer of electrons from one atom to another.
• The metal atoms lose electrons to form positive ions, while the non-metal atoms gain electrons, forming negative ions.
• The opposite charges of the ions result in a strong electrostatic attraction, forming an ionic bond.

Characteristics of Ionic Bonds and Compounds

• Ionic compounds have high melting and boiling points due to the strong electrostatic forces between ions.
• They can conduct electricity when molten or in an aqueous solution, as the ions are free to move and carry charge.
• Solid ionic compounds, however, do not conduct electricity as the ions are not free to move.
• In an ionic lattice, each ion is surrounded by ions of the opposite charge, maximising the attraction between ions.

Dot and Cross Diagrams for Ionic Bonding

• Dot and cross diagrams demonstrate how ionic bonds are formed, through showing the movement of electrons.
• The metal atom is represented with dot electrons and the non-metal atom with cross electrons.
• These diagrams are used to visualise how electrons are transferred during ionic bonding, with the outer shell electrons of one atom moving to the outer shell of the other atom.

Examples of Ionic Bonds

• Table salt or sodium chloride (NaCl) is a typical example of an ionic compound. Sodium (Na) loses one electron to chlorine (Cl), creating an ionic bond.
• Magnesium chloride (MgCl2) is another example, where magnesium transfers two electrons to two chlorine atoms. Magnesium forms a 2+ ion, and each chlorine atom gains an electron to form 1- ions.