Csec Chemistry Chapter 5: Structure and Bonding

Objectives:

5.1

 Explain the formation of ionic and covalent bonds;

 Draw dot and cross diagrams to show ionic and covalent bonding

5.2

 Predict the likelihood of an atom forming an ionic or a covalent bond based on atomic
structure

5.3

 Write formulae to represent ions, molecules and formula units;

5.4

 Explain metallic bonding;

 Arrangement of cations and mobile electrons

5.5

 Describe ionic crystals, simple molecular crystals and giant molecular crystals;
 Make diagrammatic representations of sodium chloride, graphite and diamond.
 Make models of sodium chloride, graphite and diamond.

5.6

 Distinguish between ionic and molecular solids;

 Use melting point, solubility in water and organic solvents, and conductivity.
 Investigate melting point and solubility of solids and conductivity of resulting solutions.

5.7

 Relate structure of sodium chloride, diamond and graphite to their properties and uses;
 Use melting point, solubility in water, conductivity, hardness and lubricating power

5.8

 Explain the term allotropy.

 Reference to the allotropes of carbon – diamond and graphite.
Atoms of elements in Group 0 of the periodic table are stable and unreactive and exist in
nature as individual atoms because they have fun outer electron shells or valence shells.

Atoms of all other elements are not stable because they do not have full valence shells.
These atoms attempt to obtain full valence shells and become stable by bonding with each
other.

This occurs by:

Losing valence electrons to atoms of another element. Metal atoms with 1, 2 or 3 valence
electrons usually lose their valence electrons and form positive cation

Gaining valence electrons from atoms of another element. Non-metal atoms with 5,6 or 7
valence electrons usually gain electrons into their valence shell and form negative anions

Sharing electrons in their valence shells with other atoms. When non-metal atoms with
4,5,6 or 7 valence electrons bond with each other, they share valence electrons and form
molecules.

There are three main types of chemical bonding:

Ionic Bonding - This occurs when a metal bonds with a non-metal

Covalent Bonding - This occurs when two or more non-metals bond

Metallic Bonding - This occurs within metals

Chemical compounds are formed when elements are bound by ionic or covalent
bonding

 Chemical formula can be used to represent compounds formed by ionic or covalent

bonding
 A chemical formula shows which elements are present in a compound and shows the
ratio between the elements.

Chemical formula can be written in three ways:

The molecular formula – This gives the actual number of atoms of each element present in
one molecule of a compound. E.g the molecular formula of ethene is C2H4

The structural formula – This is a diagrammatic representation of one molecule of the

compound.

The empirical formula – This gives the simplest whole number ratio between the elements in
the compound e.g CH2

Empirical formulae of compounds formed from two different elements can be written using
the concept of valence number or valency.

Valency – This is the number of bonds an atom can form when bonding with other atoms.
It Is determined by the number of valence electrons an atom has and it can be though of as
the number of electrons an atom has to lose, gain or share when bonding
Ionic Bonding – Occurs between a metal and a non-metal. Valence electrons are transferred
from the metal atom to the non-metal atom.

 The metal atoms form positive ions known as cations.

 The non-metal atoms form negative ions known as anions.
 Both types of ions have full outer electron shells and are stable

Forming the noble gas configuration

Dot and Cross Diagrams – This helps us to keep track of where the electrons have come
from when an ionic bond is formed. Dot and cross diagrams show:

 The outer electron shells only

 The charge of the ion at the top right outside square brackets
Covalent Bonding

Covalent Bonding occurs when two or more non-metal atoms bonds.

Unpaired valence electrons ae shared between the atoms which results in the formation of
molecules and so the shared electrons orbit around both atoms sharing them. This forms
covalent bonds which hold the atoms together.

 When some non-metal atoms combine, not all of the electrons in the outer shell form
covalent bonds. The pairs of electrons not used in covalent bonding are called lone pairs
 Covalent bonding can occur between atoms of the same element. It can also occur
between atoms of two or more different elements.

Molecules with only single bonds:

Diagram below shows dot and cross diagram for hydrogen chloride, water, ammonia
and ethane
Covalent substances are composed of individual molecules which can be either polar or
non-polar due to the electronegativity of the atoms present.

Electronegativity – measure of how strongly atoms attract bonding electrons. Fluorine,

oxygen, chlorine and nitrogen are the most electronegative elements
Molecules with multiple bonds
Ionic Bonding – Ionic bonding occurs between a metal and a non-metal. Valence electrons
are transferred from the metal atom (or atoms) to the non-metal atom (or atoms).

The metal atoms form positive ions known as cations.

The non-metal atoms form negative ions known as anions. Both types of ions have full
outer electron shells and are stable.

Examples:

The sodium atom transfers its valence electron to the chlorine atom. A sodium ion (Na' ),
which has a single positive charge, and a chloride ion (CI-), which has a single negative
charge, are formed

Diagrams to show the formation of ionic compounds can be simplified by showing

only the valence electrons.
The Crystalline Structure of Ionic Compounds

At room temperature, ionic compounds exist as crystalline solids.

Strong electrostatic forces of attraction between the ions, called ionic bonds, hold the
oppositely charged ions together in a regular, repeating, three-dimensional arrangement
throughout the crystal. This forms a structure known as a crystal lattice.

In an Ionic Lattice:

 The electrostatic attractive forced between the positive and negative ions act in all
directions
 These forces are very strong, it takes a lot of energy to overcome them

Properties of Ionic Compounds

 They have high melting points :They are strong attractive forces between the large
numbers of positive and negative ions acting in all directions. It needs a lot of energy to
overcome these forces to melt to solid
 They are brittle : The crystals split apart when hit in the same direction as the layers
of ions. When the layers move slightly, similarly charged ions come close to each other.
The large repulsive forces cause the crystals to split
 They are hard : It takes a lot of energy to scratch the surface. This is because the
strong attractive forces keep the ions together
 They are soluble in water : When added to water, the water molecules form weak
bonds with the ions on the surface of the crystals. The forces between the ions within
the crystal are weakened and the ions eventually become surrounded by water
molecules. The total forces of attraction between the water molecules and the ions are
greater than the forces of attraction between the positive and negative ions. So the
crystal dissolves
 They do not dissolve in non-polar organic solvents : because either bonds are not
formed between the organic solvent and the ions or the bonds are too weak
 They do not conduct electricity when solid : This is because the ions are not free to
move. For a substance to be able to conduct electricity there must be a movement of
charged particles (ions). When sodium chloride is molten or dissolved in water, it does
conduct electricity. This is because the ions are free to move

Uses of Ionic Compounds:

 The solubility of sodium chloride makes it useful for:

 Manufacturing chlorine and sodium hydroxide by electrolysis of its aqueous solution
 Spreading on roads in cold countries to reduce the formation of ice
Each sodium ion, Na<, is bonded to six chloride ions, CI-. Each CI- ion is bonded to six Na
ions. This is seen by looking at the Na< ion in the center of the cube.

Formulae and Names of Ionic Compounds

Ionic compounds can be composed of ions formed from single atoms called monatomic
ions (see p. 32), or ions formed from small groups of atoms which are bonded together and
called polyatomic ions, e.g. the ammonium ion, NH/ , and the carbonate ion, CO/ -.

To Name Anions:

The name of an anion formed from a single atom is derived from the name of the element,
with the ending '·ide'. For example, N'- is the nitride ion.

• When oxygen is present in a polyatomic anion the name of the ion is derived from the
element combined with the oxygen, with the ending '·ite' or '·ale'. For example, NO,- is the
nitrite ion and NO,- is the nitrate ion. Alternatively, the ending '-ate' is used with the
oxidation number of the element given in brackets. For example, NO,- is the nitrate(lII) ion
and NO,- is the nitrate(V) ion (see p. 83).

When writing formulae of ionic compounds, the sum of the positive charges and the
sum of the negative charges must be equal.

This is because the total number of electrons lost by one type of atom or group of atoms
must be the same as the total number gained by the other type of atom or group of atoms.
To Write the Chemical Formula of An Ionic Compound

Write down the formulae of the two ions present from the Tables 5.2 and 5.3.

• Rewrite the formula of the cation without its charge.

• Write the magnitude of the charge on the anion immediately after the formula of the
cation in subscript.

• Write the formula of the anion immediately after the subscript without its charge.

• Write the magnitude of the charge on the cation immediately after the formula of the
anion in subscript.

Ions, Molecules and Formula Units

Compounds are likely to be ionic when a reactive metal in Group I or II reacts with a
reactive non-metal near the top of Group VI or VII. This is because Group I and II elements
readily lose electrons and elements near the top of Groups VI and VII generally readily
accept electrons

Compounds are likely to be covalent when two non-metals react. This is because the power
of the atoms to attract an electron is similar. So neither of the atoms can attract an electron
enough to transfer it completely and make an ion
Three types of chemical formula
Metallic Bonding

Metallic bond is formed by the attractive forces between the delocalized electrons and the
positive ions

Metallic bonding occurs in metals. The metal atoms are packed tightly together in rows to
form a metal lattice, and their valence electrons become delocalized. This forms positive
cations and a 'sea' of mobile electrons. The metal lattice is held together by the electrostatic
forces of attraction between the delocalized electrons and the cations, known as the metallic
bond, which is strong.

This means that the valence electrons are no longer associated with any specific atom and
are free 10 move.

The strength of metallic bonding increases as:

 The positive charge on the ions increases

 The size of the metal ion decreases
 The number of delocalized electrons increases

The Properties of Metals Related To Their Structures:

 They are malleable and ductile. This is because, when a force is applied, the layers
slide over each other. Metals are not brittle like ionic compounds because in metals,
new attractive forces are formed between the delocalized electrons and the atoms in
layers
 Metals are insoluble in both water and organic solvents but many metals react with
water rather than dissolving. In metals that do no react, the metallic bonds are too
strong to allow solvent molecules to form strong enough bonds with the individual
atoms in order to separate them from each other
 Metals conduct electricity when solid or molten. This is because the delocalized
electrons can easily move through them when a potential difference is applied
 Metals have high density. This is because the atoms are packed very closely together
 Metals are solid at room temperature. This is because room temperature is not high
enough to break the strong electrostatic forces of attraction between the cations and
delocalized electrons
 Metals have high melting and boiling points. This is because the strong electrostatic
forces of attraction between the cations and delocalized electrons require large amounts
of heat energy to break
 Metals conduct heat. This is because the delocalized electrons move and carry heat
through the metal

The Structure and Properties of Solids

Solids can be divided into four groups based on their structure:

• Ionic crystals

• Simple molecular crystals

• Giant molecular crystals

• Metallic crystals
Ionic Crystals

An ionic crystal is made of an ionic lattice in which strong electrostatic forces of attraction
called ionic bonds hold the cations and anions together in a regular, repeating, three-
dimensional arrangement.

Ionic crystals are represented by empirical formulae or formula units.

Examples:

Sodium chloride, empirical formula NaCI. Made of Na' ions and CI- ions (see p. 33).

• All other ionic compounds

Simple Molecular Crystals

A simple molecular crystal is made of a molecular lattice in which weak forces of attraction
called intermolecular forces hold small molecules together in a regular, three-dimensional
arrangement.

The atoms within each molecule are bonded together by strong covalent bonds. Simple
molecular crystals are represented by molecular formulae.

Examples:
The Properties of Iodine and Sulfur Can Be Related To Their Structure:

 They have low melting points because the forces between the molecules are weak. It
does not need much energy to overcome these forces and separate the molecules
 They are soft. When scratched, it does not take much energy to overcome the wea forces
between the molecules
 They do not dissolve easily in water because the water molecules cannot form strong
enough bonds with the molecules to separate them from each other
 They dissolve in non-polar organic solvents because the forces between the solvent
molecules and the iodine molecules are stronger than those between the iodine or sulfur
molecules.
 They do not conduct electricity when solid or molten. This is because they have neither
ions nor electrons that can move

Giant Molecular Crystals

A giant molecular crystal is composed of a giant molecular lattice in which strong covalent
bonds hold non-metal atoms together in a regular, three-dimensional arrangement
throughout the lattice.

Giant molecular crystals are represented by empirical formulae

Examples:

Allotropes are different structural forms of a single element in the same physical
state

• Allotropes have the same chemical properties because they are both composed of the
same element.

• Allotropes have different physical properties because the atoms are bonded differently.

Allotropy is the existence of different structural forms of a single element in the same
physical state

Diamond

In diamond, each carbon atom is bonded covalently to four others, which are arranged in a
tetrahedron around it. This creates a three-dimensional arrangement of carbon atoms
throughout the crystal.
Graphite

In graphite, each carbon atom is bonded covalently to three others to form hexagonal rings
of atoms, which are bonded together to form layers. The layers have weak forces of
attraction between them which hold them together. The fourth electron from each atom
becomes de localized and can move within the lattice.
Similarities in Properties of Diamond and Graphite

The properties of diamonds and graphite can be explained by their structure and bonding:

 They have a high melting point. It needs a lot of energy to break down the network of
strong covalent bonds
 They are insoluble in water and inorganic solvents. The network of covalent bonds is too
strong to allow solvent molecules to form strong enough bonds with the individual
atoms

Differences In Properties of Diamond and Graphite

Hardness:

Diamond is hard: The strong covalent bonding throughout makes it difficult to scratch the
surface of the crystals. It is one of the hardest substances known. It makes it ideal to use
for the edges of cutting tools

Graphite is soft. The forces between the layers of graphite are weak. So, the layers can slide
over each other when a force is applied. The layers of graphite flake away easily and so
graphite Is used as a lubricant and in leads.

Electrical Conduction:

Diamond does not conduct electricity. It is a covalent compound with no ions. There are no
electrons free to move

Graphite conducts electricity. Carbon has four electrons in its outer shell to use in bonding.
In graphite, three of the carbon electrons in each atom are used to form covalent bonds.
The fourth carbon electron in each atom is free to move around and along the layers. These
electrons are called delocalized electrons. When a potential difference is applied, these
electrons move along the layers