Polar Covalent Bonds Electron pairs in covalent bonds are not always shared equally This affects the properties of the compound Remember electronegativity? The atom with the higher electronegativity attracts the bonding electrons more. Electrons are pulled closer to this atom.
Example: HCl Draw the Lewis Structure for HCl The bonding pair are pulled more towards the most electronegative atom...which one is that?
Review: Naming Binary Acids These are covalent compounds They do not contain oxygen They are named using ionic naming conventions Eg. HCl hydrogen chloride HBr hydrogen bromide HCN hydrogen cyanide (not binary) The form ions in water (this is why they are named like ionic compounds To name when in water (aqueous) Drop hydrogen, add “hydro” to root, change ending to “ic acid” Hydrogen chloride hydrochloric acid
IUPAC names for binary acids The general form “aqueous hydrogen _______” is used Eg. HCl aqueous hydrogen chloride HBr aqueous hydrogen bromide
Space Filling Model of HCl If we look at a model of HCl We find that the bonding pair is pulled more toward Cl Cl becomes slightly – ( we use the symbol δ-) H becomes slightly + ( we use the symbol δ+) This small difference in charge within a covalent molecule is called a dipole
Polar Covalent Bonds If a molecule has a dipole we refer to the bond as a polar covalent bond The molecule itself is considered to be polar The difference in electronegativity b/n the atoms involved determines how polar the bond will be.
Electronegativity difference For F-H bonds The electronegativity of H is 2.1 The electronegativity of F is 4.0 The electronegativity difference = 4.0-2.1 = 1.9 This bond is very polar! For C-H bonds The electronegativity difference = 2.5-2.1 = 0.4 This is only slightly polar
Determining the polarity of a bond If the electronegativity difference is less than 0.5, the bond is considered slightly polar Covalent bonds are completely non-polar only when the 2 atoms are identical Eg. H2 The electronegativity difference is also called the ionic character of the bond
Is a bond polar covalent or ionic? If the ionic character is > 1.7, the bond is considered to be ionic It is hard to tell the difference between highly polar covalent bonds and ionic bonds Therefore, we usually consider, metal + non-metal bonds to be ionic and non-metal + non-metal bonds to be covalent
Bonding Continuum
Predicting Polarity For the following pairs of atoms, use electronegativity to determine if the bond will be non-polar, polar covalent or ionic calcium and chlorine nitrogen and bromine carbon and fluorine For the above pairs, indicate which atom will be slightly positive and which one will be slightly negative. Determine the bond polarity in the compound IF. Is it slightly polar or very polar?