December 11, 2009

Covalent - a "sharing" of electrons between two nonmetals

1. Polar Covalent Bond - shared unequally (unequal distribution of charge)

H -- Cl H Cl The bigger the difference
in e-neg, the more polar.
N -- O N S

O -- F O F
slightly positive slightly negative

Polar Bonds
When atoms of different electronegativities form a bond, the electrons tend to be more controlled by the
atom with the higher electronegativity.
The resulting bond is a dipole -- it has a slight negative charge on the higher electronegativity side, and a
slight positive charge on the other end.
This type of bond is called a polar bond. Examples of polar bonded molecules include hydrochloric acid
(HCl) and water (H2O).

Polar Molecules
Not all molecules with polar bonds are polar molecules. To be a polar molecule, the entire molecule must be
a dipole - it must have slightly positive and slightly negative ends.
Hydrochloric acid is a polar molecule, since it has positive and negative ends.
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Polar Molecules - are made from polar bonds and result in a

dipole (two poles d+ and d-)

a) H2O - water O H O H
H H

b) NH 3 - ammonia H N H H N H
H H

c) HF - hydrogen fluoride H F H F
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2. Nonpolar Covalent Bond- electrons are shared equally(unequal distribution

of charge)

A) If the electronegativities are equal. (same pull on e- pair)

ex. all diatomic molecules

H H F F Cl Cl Br Br

I I O O N N

50% 50% (each has equal share of electron pair)

ex. F F
4.0 4.0 (same e - neg's pulling in opposite directions)
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B. Structurally Balanced
There are molecules that are nonpolar overall even though
they are composed of polar bonds.

ex1. CO
2

ex 2. CH
4 methane

CCl4 carbon tetrachloride

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3. Coordinate covalent - both e-s in a bond are donated by one atom alone
+
A. ex1) water gains an H to form hydronium ion

ex2) Ammonia gains an H+ to become ammonium ion

B. Carbon donates a pair to oxygen in carbon monoxide.

:C=O:
Carbon does not fulfill the octet rule so
oxygen donates one pair to the double bond.
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C. When there are no more unpaired electrons, atoms like oxygen

can shift it's electrons to make room for an unused pair.

O S O=S
O O