Electronegativity is the measure of the power of an atom to pull the bond pair towards itself when two atoms are involved in a covalent bond. Atoms of different elements have a different number of protons, for which different attracting powers. Electronegativity of elements increases across the period and decreases down the group. The electronegativity is measured in Pauling scale which is from one to four.
Examples:
When two atoms of the same element form a covalent bond, the bond pair is shared equally because they have the same electronegativity.
But when atoms of different elements form a covalent bond, the bond pair is shared unequally. In the
H-Cl bond the chlorine atom is more electronegative than hydrogen, pulls the bond pair towards itself.
In real life intermediate bonding occurs, both bondings occur but to some extent.
Examples:
Calculate the percentage of ionic and covalent bonding in:
Lithium Fluoride, LiF b) Ammonia, NH3
Ans:
The electronegativities of lithium and fluorine are 1.0 and 4.0 respectively. The difference in electronegativity is 3.0
From the above table, Li-F is 89% ionic and 11% covalent
The electronegativities of nitrogen and hydrogen are 3.0 and 2.1 respectively. The difference in electronegativity is 0.9.
From the above table, the N-H bond is 19% ionic and 81% covalent
To learn more about how chemical bonding works, you might find this book “Chemical Bonding (Oxford Chemistry Primers)” on Amazon very useful.
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