Covalent Bond

Covalent Bond is a type of chemical bond that involves the sharing of electron pairs between atoms. These electron pairs are known as shared pairs or bonding pairs, and the stable balance of attractive and repulsive forces between atoms, when they share electrons, is known as covalent bonding.

Overview

Covalent bonding includes many kinds of interactions, including σ-bonding, π-bonding, metal-to-metal bonding, agostic interactions, bent bonds, three-center two-electron bonds and three-center four-electron bonds. The term covalent bond dates from 1939. The prefix co- means jointly, associated in action, partnered to a lesser degree, etc.; thus a "co-valent bond", in essence, means that the atoms share "valence", such as is discussed in valence bond theory.

Types of Covalent Bonds

Covalent bonds are of many types, including:

• Nonpolar Covalent Bonds: A nonpolar covalent bond is a type of bond that occurs when two atoms share a pair of electrons with each other. These shared electrons glue two or more atoms together to form a molecule.

• Polar Covalent Bonds: A polar covalent bond is a type of bond that forms when electrons are not shared equally. This occurs because one atom is more electronegative than the other, making the electrons spend more time closer to the more electronegative atom.

Properties of Covalent Bonds

Covalent bonds have certain properties that distinguish them from other types of bonds. These include:

• Directionality: Covalent bonds are highly directional and this directionality results in the formation of specific molecular shapes.

• Strength: Covalent bonds are stronger than other types of bonds, such as ionic bonds or hydrogen bonds.

• Length: The length of a covalent bond is the distance between the nuclei of the two atoms involved in the bond.

See Also

• Ionic Bond
• Metallic Bond
• Hydrogen Bond
• Chemical Bond

References

Covalent Bond Resources
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