Ionic Bond

Ionic Bond is a bond that is formed by the electrostatic force of attraction between atoms. In an ionic bond, a complete transfer of electrons takes place in the process of bond formation. This bond is formed by the attracting force between the cations and the anions that are formed by the donating and acceptance of the electrons.

Ionic Bond is also called the Electrovalent bond and is formed to complete the octet of the participating atoms. If an atom combines after forming a bond it releases some energy called the bond formation energy. The higher the energy released the higher the stability of the compound.

In this article, we will learn about bonds, the nature of the bond, Ionic bonds, examples of ionic bonds, and others in detail.

Chemical Bond

The chemical bonds are formed when two or more two atoms transfer or share their electrons and combined completely to complete their octet. All the compounds around us are formed by the bonds.  Now we define a bond as the force of attraction that joins two or more atoms together to form chemical compounds. We have about 120 elements known in the periodic table but there are billions of compounds known to us all these are formed by the joining of various elements together through bonds. There are generally three types of bonds that are,

• Ionic Bonds: They are formed by the transfer of electrons from one atom to another.
• Covalent Bonds: They are formed by sharing of the electrons.
• Coordinate Bonds: They are formed when an atom donates its lone pair of electrons to another atom.

In this article, we will learn about the Ionic bond in detail.

What is Ionic Bond?

The bond formed by losing or gaining electrons is called Ionic Bond. All the atoms form bonds to complete their octet or to achieve an inert gas configuration. An atom that has eight electrons in its outermost shell is called an inert gas which is highly stable and does not react with other atoms. If an atom has 1,2 or 3 electrons in its outermost shell it losses its electrons to form a cation with eight electrons in its penultimate shell, whereas if an atom has 5, 6, or 7 electrons in its outermost shell its accepts electrons forming an anion with eight electrons in its outermost (valance) shell. So the bond formed between these cations and the anion because of the electrostatic attraction force is called the Ionic bond.

The ionic bond is the strongest bond and all the compounds that are formed by the ionic bond are called the ionic compound. The ionic bond is also called an electrovalent bond as they are formed by the transfer of electrons. So simply an ionic or electrovalent bond is defined as the bond formed by the transfer and acceptance of the electrons. High electropositive elements like alkali and alkaline earth metals and high electronegative elements like halogens are combined easily by ionic bonds.

Electrovalent Bond

Ionic Bonds sometimes called Electrovalent bonds and they are also formed when electrons are transferred from one atom to another atom, resulting in positive and negative ions. The bond formed by the transfer of electrons between atoms is known as an electrovalent bond or an ionic bond. Electrovalent bonds can only be formed between a metal and a nonmetal. Two non-metals or two metals can neither form an electrovalent bond.

Factors Responsible for the Formation of Ionic Bonds

Various factors responsible for the formation of the ionic bond are discussed below,

• The metal atom taken for the formation of the ionic bond should have low ionization enthalpy.
• The non-metal atom taken for the formation of the ionic bond should have high electron gain enthalpy.
• High energy must be released when the formation of the bond takes place, the higher the energy released the higher the strength of the ionic bond.

Electronegativity and Ionic Bonding

An ionic bond is a stable bond formed by the complete transfer of valence electrons. Ionic bond results in the formation of two oppositely charged ions – positive ions called cations and negative ions called anions. High electronegative compound forms very stable ionic compound as they can easily accept an electron to form anions. The ionic bond of highly electropositive and highly electronegative elements are much more stable as compared to other ionic compounds as they have a strong electrostatic force of attraction between them.

Properties of Ionic Bond 

Ionic bonds have various properties that differentiate them from other bonds and some of the properties of the ionic compound are,

• Ionic bonds are the most stable of all bonds.
• As ionic bonds have charge separation, they are the most reactive of all the bonds in the appropriate medium.
• The melting and boiling points of ionic-bonded molecules are extremely high.
• Ionic-bonded molecules in aqueous solutions or molten states are good conductors of electricity because of the presence of ions, which act as charge carriers.
• In nature, ionic-boned compounds are usually in a solid state.
• Ionic-bonded molecules exist as crystal structures.

Difference between Ionic Bond and Covalent Bond 

Ionic Bonds and Covalent Bonds are two types of bonds that form various chemical compounds that we use or see in our daily life. Some of the differences between the ionic bond and the covalent bond are discussed in the table below,

Ionic Bond	Covalent Bond
Ionic bonds are formed by the attraction of positive and negative ions in a crystal, and compounds held together by ionic bonds are known as ionic compounds.	When two atoms share one or more electron pairs, they form a covalent bond. Each atom contributes an equal number of electrons to the formation of the bond.
In the formation of ionic bonds cations and anions are formed as intermediates ions.	No such intermediates are formed in the formation of covalent bonds.
Ionic bonds are formed between two atoms in which one atom is electronegative and the other is electropositive.	As atoms with higher ionization potential do not lose their valence electrons easily, they prefer to form covalent bonds by sharing electrons.
If the electronegativity difference between the atom is very high they form ionic bonds. For instance, bonds formed in the KCl compound.	If the electronegativities of the combining atoms are not significantly different, the bond formed between them is most likely covalent. For instance, bonds formed in the HCl compound
Examples of the compound with ionic bonds are, NaCl CaCl2 KOH, etc.	Examples of the compound with covalent bonds are, H2O NH3 CO2, etc.

Examples of Ionic Bonds

There are various compounds which are formed by ionic compounds and these compounds are called ionic bonds. Various examples of the ionic bond are discussed in the table below,

Compound	Cation	Anion	Reaction	Electronic Configuration
NaCl	Na+	Cl–	Na → Na+ + e– Cl + e–→ Cl–	Na = 2, 8, 1 Cl = 2, 8, 7
CaCl2	Ca2+	2Cl–	Ca → Na2+ + 2e– 2Cl + 2e–→ 2Cl–	Ca = 2, 8, 8, 2 Cl = 2, 8, 7
CaO	Ca2+	O2-	Ca → Na2+ + 2e– O + 2e– → O2-	Ca = 2, 8, 8, 2 O = 2, 6

Now we explain the formation of NaCl in detail

Bonding in NaCl

NaCl is an ionic compound that is formed by the formation of Na⁺ ions and Cl^– ions.

The electronic configuration of Sodium is (2,8,1) and it has 1 electron more than a stable noble gas configuration (2,8). So it easily forms Na⁺ ion by losing an electron.

The electronic configuration of Chlorine is (2,8,7) and it has 1 electron short to achieve a stable noble gas configuration (2,8,8). So it easily forms Cl^– ion by gaining an electron.

Now one electron from Na goes to Cl and they both form the Na⁺ cation and Cl^– anion respectively, which are joined together by the electrostatic force of attraction. Forming NaCl ionic compound, the formation of the NaCl compound by the ionic bond is shown in the image below,

Read More,

• Types of Chemical Bonds
• Bond Parameters

FAQs on Ionic Bonds

Q1: What are Chemical Bonds?

Answer:

Chemical bonds are the forces between two or more two atoms that allow atoms to combine to form compounds, they are the results of the interaction between the electrons of the atoms. We charged particles of two atoms interact they form bonds which hold atoms together two form chemical compounds.

Q2: What are the Types of Chemical Bonds?

Answer:

The chemical bond is the force that joins atoms together to form chemical compounds. There are generally three types of chemical bonds that join various atoms together to form the chemical compounds that are,

• Ionic Bonds
• Covalent Bonds
• Coordinate Bonds

Q3: What are Ionic Bonds?

Answer:

Ionic bonds are the bonds formed by the complete transfer of electrons. These are the strongest type of bond and are formed when an atom completely transfers its electron to another atom to form a bond between them. They are formed by joining cations and anions together by electrostatic force. Some examples of the compound where an ionic bond is formed are,

• NaCl
• MgCl₂
• NaOH, etc.

Q4: What are Covalent Bonds?

Answer:

Covalent bonds are the bonds formed by the sharing of electrons. They are weaker than ionic compounds in strength and are formed when two or more two atoms share their electrons to complete their octet. Some examples of the compound where a covalent bond is formed are,

• CH₄
• C₂H₅OH
• NH₃, etc.

Q5: What are Examples of the Ionic Bond?

Answer:

The various examples of the compounds where the ionic bond is formed are,

NaCl, in the NaCl Na atom, loses an electron to form the Na⁺ ion and Cl atom gains an electron to form Cl^– now these Na⁺ cations and Cl^– anions combine together by electrostatic force to form an ionic bond. Some other compounds formed by the ionic bonds are,

• NaSO₄
• Ca(OH)₂
• CuCl₂, etc