1.

INTRODUCTION TO CHEMICAL BONDING

 Chemical bonding is the simultaneous attraction of two positive nuclei to negative

electrons. Chemical bonding is said to be the “glue” that holds particles (atoms, ions,
molecules) together in matter. Since most atoms do not have full valence shells, they
are unstable. For these atoms to attain full valence shells and be stable, they must
bond with other atoms. When atoms bond, energy of the atoms decreases as they
become more stable. (ex. Hydrogen)
 Atoms bond so they can attain full valence shells and become stable. The octet rule
states that a stable valence shell configuration must have eight electrons. NOTE: Not
every atom needs eight valence electrons to be stable. An atom can get a full and
stable valence shell configuration by

A) Transferring or Accepting electrons (during ionic bonding)

Or

B) Sharing electrons (during covalent bonding).

 There are three types of strong chemical bonds: ionic, covalent and metallic. In ionic
bonding the particles (atoms or a group of atoms) form oppositely charged ions. In
covalent bonding the particles are atoms (usually both non-metals) share pairs of
electrons to form the bond. In metallic bonding the metal atoms (actually positive
ions) of the lattice share negative delocalised electrons to bind themselves together.
Ionic bonding occurs in compounds formed from metals combined with non-metals.
Covalent bonding occurs in most non-metallic elements and in compounds of non-
metals. Metallic bonding occurs in metallic elements and alloys. You should be able
to explain chemical bonding in terms of electrostatic forces and the transfer or
sharing of electrons.

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2. OBJECTIVE
 Classify 3 type of chemical bonding
 Find out how chemical bonding related on OSH
 Find out what is the importance of chemical bonding

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3. TYPE OF CHEMICAL BONDING
(A) IONIC BOND
 an ionic bond is formed by one atom transferring electrons to another atom to form
oppositely charged particles called ions which attract each other – this electrostatic
attraction is called an ionic bond and is most likely formed when a metal combines
with a non-metal.
 An ion is an atom or group of atoms carrying an overall positive or negative electric
charge
 The electric charge is shown as a superscript +, –, 2+, 2– or 3+ etc.
 e.g. Na+, Cl–, [Cu(H₂O)₆]2+, SO₄²¯ etc.
 If a particle, as in a neutral atom, has equal numbers of protons (+) and electrons (–)
the overall particle charge is zero i.e. no overall electric charge.
 The proton/atomic number in an atom does not change BUT the number of
associated electrons can!
 If negative electrons are lost the excess charge from the protons produces an overall
positive ion.
 If negative electrons are gained there is an excess of negative charge, so a negative
ion is formed.
 The charge on the ion is numerically related to the number of electrons transferred
i.e. electrons lost or gained.
 For any atom or group of atoms, for every electron gained you get a one unit
increase in negative charge on the ion, for every electron lost you get a one unit
increase in the positive charge on the ion.
 The atom losing electrons forms a positive ion (cation) and is usually a metallic
element.
 The atom gaining electrons forms a negative ion (anion) and is usually a non–metallic
element.
 The ionic bond then consists of the attractive force between the positive and
negative ions in the structure.
 The ionic bonding forces act in all directions around a particular ion, it is not
directional, as in the case of covalent bonding.

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 The sodium (metal) atom transfers an electron to the chlorine
(non–metal) atom in forming the ionic compound sodium chloride
 The bonds between the ions is very strong and they club together to form a giant
ionic lattice with a very high melting point because it takes a lot of energy to
overcome the attractive forces between the ions - the ionic bonds.
 When molten, or dissolved in water, ionic compounds will conduct electricity
because the charged particles (ions) are free to move and carry the electric current.

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Example of ionic bond: A Group 1 Alkali Metal + a Group 7 Halogen non–metal

 e.g. sodium + chlorine ==> sodium chloride NaCl or its ionic formula Na+Cl–
 In terms of electron arrangement in the formation of the ionic compound sodium
chloride, the sodium donates its outer electron to a chlorine atom forming a single
positive sodium ion and a single negative chloride ion.
 The atoms have become stable ions, because electronically via electron transfer
 sodium becomes like neon (sodium ion, Na+) and chlorine like argon (chloride ion,
Cl–).

Na (2.8.1) + Cl (2.8.7) ==> Na+ (2.8) Cl– (2.8.8)

 can be summarised electronically to give the stable 'noble gas' structures as [2,8,1] +
[2,8,7] ==> [2,8]+ [2,8,8]–
 so both the sodium and chloride ions have a full outer shell like a noble gas

Note in this electron diagram, only the original outer electrons are shown above.

 The outer electron of the sodium atom (2.8.1) is transferred to the outer shell of the
chlorine atom (2.8.7) giving it a complete octet shell of outer electrons, just like a
noble gas (2.8.8). At the same time, the sodium ion also attains a stable noble gas
electron structure (2.8).
 The valencies of Na and Cl are both 1, that is, the numerical charge on the ions.
sodium fluoride NaF, potassium bromide KBr and lithium iodide LiI etc. will all be
electronically similar.
 Only the outer valency electrons of the chloride ion are shown, the 'blob' electron
represents the electron from the sodium atom which is accepted by the chlorine
atom to form the chloride ion.
 The charge on the sodium ion Na+ is +1 units (by convention shown as just +)
because there is one more positive proton than there are negative electrons in the
sodium ion (11p, 10e).
 The charge on the chloride ion Cl– is –1 units (by convention shown as just –)
because there is one more negative electron than there are positive protons in the
chloride ion (17p, 18e).

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 would represent the full electronic structure diagram of the sodium ion [2.8] and
the chloride ion [2.8.8], hence the full electronic structure of sodium chloride.
Note that the 'blob' and 'x' electrons are identical, but their use is just a useful
visual device to show how the ions are formed. The blue circle represents the
nucleus.

 Above is the electronic dot & cross diagram for the ionic bonding in the ionic
compound sodium chloride,is the Lewis diagram for the formation of sodium
chloride from its elements.
Limitations of these dot and cross diagrams:

 Although these electron arrangement diagrams show how the ionic bond is
formed and the electronic structure and electrical charge on the ions, they do
not give any idea on the relative size of the ions or the 3D spatial arrangement of
the ions in the crystal lattice.

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(B) COVALENT BOND - electron sharing in big or small molecules!

 Covalent bonds are formed by atoms sharing electrons to form bonds that
hold the atoms together in a molecule.
 This type of bond usually formed between two non–metallic
elements. The molecules might be that of an element i.e. one type
of atom only OR from different elements chemically combined to
form a compound.
 Note: The molecular formula is the summary of all the atoms in a
molecule.
 The covalent bonding is caused by the mutual electrical attraction between
the two positive nuclei of the two atoms forming the bond, and the
SHARING of a pair of negative electrons between them.
 A COVALENT BOND IS THE SHARING OF A PAIR ELECTRONS
BETWEEN TWO ATOMS
 It only involves electrons in the outer shell i.e. the outermost energy
level containing 1–7 electrons, which can be shared between atoms
to form a covalent bond.
 One single covalent bond is a sharing of 1 pair of electrons, two pairs of
shared electrons between the same two atoms gives a double bond and it
is possible for two atoms to share 3 pairs of electrons and give a triple
bond.
 Note: In the examples of covalent bonding it is assumed YOU can work
out the electron configuration (arrangement in shells or energy levels)
given the atomic number from the Periodic Table.
 This kind of bond or electronic linkage does act in a particular direction i.e.
along the 'line' between the two nuclei of the atoms bonded together, this
is why covalent molecules have a particular shape.
 In the case of ionic or metallic bonding, the electrical attractive
forces act in all directions around the particles involved.
 Which electronic structures are the most stable? because is this what
atoms will try to get to electronically!

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 
symbol (atomic number) electron arrangement

 When atoms SHARE ELECTRONS in a covalent bond, they try to attain

the electron structure (electron configuration) of the electronically very
stable atoms of the Group 0 Noble Gases eg helium (2), neon (2.8) or
argon (2.8.8), that is, a full outer shell of electrons (full highest energy
level).
 Quite simply, this is because these are the most stable electron
arrangements and have a full outer shell of electrons (full highest
energy level).
 The number of bonds formed depends on the number of electrons
that needs to be shared so that any pair of atoms in a molecule
forming a covalent bond attain the electron arrangement of a noble
gas (i.e. 2, 2.8 or 2.8.8 etc.)
 Note that hydrogen and helium only have one shell, so when
referring to the full outer shell of hydrogen, it is the one and only
shell, but the descriptive word 'outer' is much more crucial when
describing the electronic structures of any element with at least two
shells e.g. when describing covalent bonding in molecules
containing carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and chlorine etc.
 In advanced level chemistry you will encounter examples of
electronic structures of atoms in covalent molecules that are NOT
those of a Noble Gas.
 Its a good idea to have some idea of where the elements are in the
periodic table, and their electronic structure, before looking at the
theoretical electronic model for covalent bonding in molecules
(elements or compounds).

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The black zig–zag line 'roughly' divides the metals on the left from the non–
metals on the right of the elements of the Periodic Table.

The electronic structures of the first 20 elements of the Periodic Table

You need to know about these to understand the details of covalent chemical
bonding

metals Part of the modern Periodic Table metals => non–metals

P
d Gp Gp Gp Gp Gp Gp Gp Gp
1 2 Pd = period, Gp = group 3 4 5 6 7 0
1 1H Note that H does not readily fit into any group 2He
10N
2 3Li 4Be 5B 6C 7N 8O 9F
e
atomic number Chemical Symbol eg 4Be
11N 12M 17C 18A
3 13Al 14Si 15P 16S
a g l r

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 20C 21S 22T 25M 26F 27C 29C 30Z 31G 32G 33A 34S 35B 36K
4 19K 23V 24Cr 28Ni
a ci n e o u n a e s e r r
37R 40Z 41N 42M 44R 45R 46P 47A 48C 50S 51S 52T 54X
5 38Sr 39Y 43Tc 49In 53I
b r b o u h d g d n b e e
55C 56B 82P 84P 85A 86R
6 Transition Metals 81Tl 83Bi
s a b o t n
Gp 1 Alkali Metals Gp 2 Alkaline Earth Metals Gp 7 Halogens Gp 0 Noble
Gases

Chemical bonding comments about the selected elements highlighted in

white

When any two of the highlighted non–metals on the right of the periodic
table (and hydrogen) combine with each other OR with themselves, covalent
bonds are formed, e.g. the formation of a covalent compounds like hydrogen
chloride HCl, sulfur dioxide SO2, and element molecules like hydrogen H2 or
oxygen O2.

 Most covalent molecules you will come across are formed by

combinations of atoms of non–metallic elements on the right–hand side
of the Periodic Table eg from Group 4 carbon and silicon, from Group 5
nitrogen and phosphorus and from the Group 7 Halogens – fluorine,
chlorine, bromine and iodine. Hydrogen also forms predominantly covalent
compounds and so does the Noble Gas xenon in Group 0. Don't forget,
even non–metal elements can form molecules eg hydrogen H2 and
phosphorus P4.

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Example: Covalent bonding diagram for CHLORINE covalent molecule,
molecular formula Cl2

 Two chlorine atoms (2.8.7) form the molecule of the element chlorine Cl2
 Chlorine Cl2 is one electron short of a full outer shell of 8 like argon, so
two chlorine atoms share an electron to have full outer shell

 and combine to form where both

atoms have a pseudo argon structure of 8 outer electrons around each
atom. The electronic dot & cross Lewis diagrams for covalent bonding in
chlorine

(Lewis diagram of chlorine) simplified 'dot and cross' electronic diagram for
the covalently bonded chlorine molecule
 The chlorine molecule is held together by the strong chlorine–chlorine
single covalent bond from sharing outer electrons, Cl–Cl (displayed
formula)..

 Electronically, both chlorines (2.8.7) become like argon (2.8.8), so the

chlorine atoms effectively have a full outer shell in forming the covalent
bonds when the atoms share their outer electrons.
 All the other halogens would be similar e.g. F2, Br2 and I2 etc.

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 Here the valency of halogens like chlorine is 1.

The two inner shells of chlorine's electrons are not shown in the diagram above, as
they are in the diagram on the left, and, remember, 'blobs' and 'crosses' are all the
same electrons in their specific energy levels and only the outer shells of electrons
are involved in the covalent bonding here.

is the full 'dot and cross' electronic diagram for the covalent bonding in the chlorine
molecule.

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 (C) METALLIC BOND

METAL STRUCTURE

 All metals have similar properties BUT, there can be wide variations in melting
point, boiling point, density, electrical conductivity and physical strength.
 To explain the physical properties of metals like iron or sodium we need a
more sophisticated picture than a simple particle model of atoms all lined up
in close packed rows and layers, though this picture is correctly described as
another example of a giant lattice held together by metallic bonding.
 A giant metallic lattice – the crystal lattice of metals consists of ions (NOT
atoms) surrounded by a 'sea of electrons' that form the giant lattice (2D
diagram above).
 The outer electrons (–) from the original metal atoms are free to move around
between the positive metal ions formed (+).
 These 'free' or 'delocalised' electrons from the outer shell of the metal atoms
are the 'electronic glue' holding the particles together.
 There is a strong electrical force of attraction between these free electrons
(mobile electrons or 'sea' of delocalised electrons) (–) and the 'immobile'
positive metal ions (+) that form the structure of the giant metallic lattice and
this is the metallic bond. The attractive force acts in all directions.
 Metallic bonding is not directional like covalent bonding, it is like ionic bonding
in the sense that the force of attraction between the positive metal ions and
the mobile electrons acts in every direction about the fixed (immobile) metal
ions of the metal crystal lattice, but in ionic lattices none of the ions are
mobile. a big difference between a metal bond and an ionic bond.

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 Metals can become weakened when repeatedly stressed and strained.
(1) This can lead to faults developing in the metal structure called 'metal
fatigue' or 'stress fractures'.
(2) If the metal fatigue is significant it can lead to the collapse of a metal
structure.

 So it is important develop alloys which are well designed, well tested and will
last the expected lifetime of the structure whether it be part of an aircraft (eg
titanium aircraft frame) or a part of a bridge (eg steel suspension cables).

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 4. RECOMMENDATION

 Chemical bonding is the process that links elements together to form

compounds. Potassium Chloride KCl is an example of ionic bonding.
 Below is a simple diagram of potassium and chlorine atoms. Electrons are
shown to be arranged in rings around a central nucleus. Electrons fill these
rings, or shells, as they are know, in a particular order. For many elements,
the most stable state is one in which there are eight electrons in the outermost
electron shell. Notice that potassium has one electron in its outermost shell
and chlorine has seven. When the two atoms are in contact, potassium readily
transfers its outer electron to chlorine which readily accepts it, resulting in
both atoms achieving a state of eight outermost electrons. With this electron
transfer, the ionic bond in KCl is formed.

Atomic Number 19 Atomic Number 17

(19 electrons) (17 electrons)

How chemical bonding of KCl related to Health

Helps Prevent Stroke

A team of researchers at Harvard Medical School and its Boston teaching affiliate,
Brigham and Women’s Hospital, undertook a study to see what, if any, connections
existed between potassium intake and the risk of stroke. Their large-scale study
tracked 43,738 men between the ages of 40 and 75 who had no diagnostic history of
cardiovascular disease or diabetes. Researchers discovered that men who

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maintained a diet rich in potassium experienced a lower incidence of stroke than
those whose potassium intake was lower or even deficient. Supplementation with
potassium chloride was also found to be helpful in preventing stroke, particularly
among patients taking diuretics, which tend to flush potassium and other minerals
from the body. Researchers published their findings in a 1998 issue of “Circulation,”
a journal of the American Heart Association.

Lowers Kidney Stone Risks

In “Guide to Nutritional Supplements,” author Benjamin Caballero, M.Sc., Ph.D., a

professor at Johns Hopkins University, cites a study showing that increased
potassium intake sharply reduced the risk of kidney stones in a study group of
91,731 women. In the study, women who took an average daily dose of 4.7 grams of
potassium had an incidence of kidney stone formation that was 35 percent lower
than women whose daily intake of potassium was less than 2 grams. Dr. Caballero
also reported that increased potassium intake appears to be linked to greater bone
mineral density.

How chemical bonding of KCL related on Environment

We know that potassium and chlorine are two of the many chemical elements
transported from Earth's continents to its seas as the forces of nature

wear down rocks. Potassium and chlorine are two

chemical elements found in minerals comprising rocks. Natural waters slowly
dissolve these and other elements from minerals and carry them, by the force of
gravity, to the oceans. Earth processes may be thought of as nature's large-scale
recycling projects: Minerals in continental rocks are broken down by wind, water and

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living organisms into simpler components, only to be re-formed into new minerals,
such as those found in salt deposits.

Chemical bonding of KCl related on Safety

 Potassium chloride, or KCL, is a chemical compound that can be used in a

variety of applications, including medications. In its natural state, potassium
chloride appears as white crystals or powder, according to Mallinckrodt
Chemicals. Because it is classified as a hazardous material, caution should
be taken when handling it. A knowledge of potentially harmful side effects can
help you to identify how to properly handle potassium chloride. In addition to
dangers to the skin, avoid inhaling potassium chloride or getting it in your
eyes.

(a) Irritation/Tingling

Skin that comes in contact with potassium chloride may result in irritation that causes
redness or tingling of the skin, according to Drugs.com. Your skin may feel slightly
prickly, as if something is on your skin, yet not visible. If your skin does come into
direct contact with potassium chloride, Mallinckrodt Chemicals recommends washing
your skin with soap and water for at least 15 minutes. This should help to alleviate
skin irritation. If the irritation does not subside with time or seems to be getting
worse, seek a physician’s treatment.

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 (b) Rash

A rash is a more severe skin reaction than skin irritation. Risk of a rash may be
increased in certain settings, particularly when potassium chloride mixes with
another solution. Potassium chloride is incompatible with some compounds, and
may cause a reaction when coming into contact with water, acids and other
compounds, according to Science Lab. If your skin comes in contact with both water
and potassium chloride, it may cause a reaction severe enough to cause a rash to
develop. A rash is characterized by uneven bumps on the skin. For this reason, you
should use soap along with water to remove any potassium chloride on your skin.

(c) Respiratory Tract Irritation

Your respiratory tract is made up of muscular skin strong enough to support the
foods and drinks you consume. When you inhale potassium chloride, the chemical
can irritate the skin in your respiratory tract, according to Science Lab. This can
cause irritation of the skin of your gastrointestinal tract, which results in nausea,
abdominal discomfort and diarrhea. If you do become nauseated due to the
potassium chloride, your body’s reaction of vomiting can help to prevent acute
potassium poisoning, according to Science Lab.

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 5. CONCLUSION

Chemists can use the theory of structure and bonding to explain the physical and chemical
properties of materials of widely varying composition e.g. salt crystals, metals, polymer
plastics etc. etc. Chemical bonding theory (covalent, ionic, metallic) explains how atoms are
held together in these different types of structure. This theoretical chemical bonding
knowledge, backed up with experimental evidence, helps scientists to design and engineer
new materials with desirable properties for specific uses. The properties of these new
materials offer new technological applications and uses in a range of different industrial and
domestic use of technologies from electronic devices to new structural materials and a lot
more besides.

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 6. REFERENCES

Internet / Website

 https://www.livestrong.com/article/483360-potassium-chloride-health-benefits/
 http://www.docbrown.info/page04/4_72bond2.htm
 https://www.grainger.com/content/qt-safety-bonding-grounding-255

Book

 Handbook of Chemicals and Safety: T. S. S. Dikshith, 2012 by CRC Press

Lecturer note

 Chapter 5 ( Redox Reaction & Chemical Bonding)

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