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Dear students, from here the tricky part of chemistry starts. So as not to confuse you, I have divided the
chapter of bonding into two parts: ionic bonding, and covalent and metallic bonding. This lecture deals
only with ionic bonding.
Before we begin, you all must understand the need for bonding. You see, atoms of many elements are
unstable, i.e. their valence (outermost) shell is incomplete. We have already learnt that atoms try to
complete their duplet or octet, and for this many of them either gain or lose electrons. Note that I say
many, not all. This transfer of electrons causes atoms to become charged, either positively or
negatively; these charged atoms are called ions. Anyway, we all know opposite charges attract each
other, and thats the whole phenomenon behind ionic bonding. There is a transfer of electrons between
atoms, and as they become oppositely charged, they attract each other and a strong bond is formed
between them. This is known as ionic bonding.
Ionic bonding occurs generally between metals of group I and II, and non-metals of groups VI and VII.
This is because of their configurations. Let us learn why.
Formation:
As I mentioned earlier, atoms try to complete their duplet or octet, in order to achieve stability. But who
gains electrons and who loses them?
Let us take the element sodium, which has the configuration 2,8,1. You can see that it has 1 electron in its
outermost shell. If it loses that electron, it will achieve stability. However, it could also gain 7 electrons
and achieve that goal. Compare losing the one electron to gaining SEVEN electrons; what would be
easier? Obviously losing the one it already has. So a metal (Group I and II) will always go for losing its
valence electrons, gaining a positive charge. A positively charged ion is known as a cation. Remember,
metals always form cations.
Now let us consider Chlorine. It has the configuration 2,8,7. It needs to gain either 1 electron to complete
its octet, or needs to lose 7 of its own electrons. Again, the easier solution would be to gain the one
instead of losing the seven, so it will gain, unlike metals. So, non-metals generally gain electrons to
achieve stability, forming negatively charged ions (anions).
You see in the above examples that Sodium loses 1 electron, while Chlorine gains 1. Where does the lost
electron go, and where does the gained electron come from? You see, the sodium atom gives an electron
to anyone willing to take it, and if we are reacting sodium and chlorine together, the chlorine accepts the
atom that sodium is giving. There is an exchange of electrons, and opposite charges are formed (+1 on
sodium and -1 on chlorine), causing electrostatic attraction between them that holds them together, and
thus an ionic bond is formed.
Other Examples:
I mentioned earlier that Group I, II, VI and VII elements take part in ionic bonding. Aluminium (Group
III) forms some ionic compounds as well. Let us look at some more examples of Ionic Compounds.
Structure:
Ionic Compounds form giant ionic structures, called giant lattice structure or crystal lattice. Let us, again,
take the example of NaCl, which forms a cubic lattice.
Chemical Formulae:
The formula of an ionic compound is constructed by balancing the charges on the positive ions with those
on the negative ions. The positive charges must equal the negative charges. For example, in Sodium
Chloride, Sodium (whose symbol is Na) has charge +1, while Chlorine (whose symbol is Cl) has charge
-1. So 1 Na needs 1 Cl, therefore the chemical formula NaCl.
Now, lets consider Magnesium Oxide. Mg has +2 charge, while O has -2 charge. There is 1 to 1 ratio
between the ions, so the chemical formula is MgO.
But what happens when there isnt a 1 to 1 ratio? Let us take Aluminium Oxide. Al has the charge +3,
while O has the charge -2. The following way is adopted then.
Physical Properties:
They do not conduct electricity in their solid state. However, they do conduct electricity in their
aqueous or molten state. This is because ions are free to move around when in aqueous or molten
states.