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their bond electrons equally. This is because each type of atom possesses its
own charge environment, which produces an atoms electronegativity.
Electronegativity is a measure of the tendency of an atom to attract a
bonding pair of electrons.
the term "electronegativity" was introduced by Jns Jacob Berzelius in 1811,
For example:
does not have as high of an electronegativity because, although it has a halffilled shell, it readily loses an electron rather than gains one.
What if two atoms of equal electronegativity bond together?
Consider a bond between two atoms, A and B. If the atoms are equally
electronegative, both have the same tendency to attract the bonding pair of
electrons, and so it will be found on average half way between the two
atoms:
To get a bond like this, A and B would usually have to be the same atom. You
will find this sort of bond in, for example, H2 or Cl2 molecules
What if B is slightly more electronegative than A?
B will attract the electron pair rather more than A does.
That means that the B end of the bond has more than its fair share of
electron density and so becomes slightly negative. At the same time, the A
end (rather short of electrons) becomes slightly positive. In the diagram, "
" (read as "delta") means "slightly" - so + means "slightly positive".
An important application of electronegativity is in the prediction of the
polarity of a chemical bond. Because hydrogen has an electrognegativity of
2.1 and chlorine has an electronegativity of 3.0, they would be expected to
form a polar molecule with the chlorine being the negative side of the dipole.
The difference between the electronegativities of Na(0.9) and Cl(3.0) are so
great that they form an ionic bond. The hydrogen molecule on the other
hand, with zero electronegativty difference, becomes the classic example of
a covalent bond.
After fluorine, oxygen is the next highest in electronegativity at 3.44, and
this has enormous consequences in practice. Since oxygen is the most
abundant element on the Earth, its high chemical activity makes it a part of
most common substances. It's electronegativity leads to the polar nature of
the water molecule and contributes to the remarkable properties of water.
Polar Bonds
When atoms of different electronegativities form a bond, the electrons tend
to be more controlled by the atom with the higher electronegativity.
The resulting bond is a dipole it has a slight negative charge on the
higher electronegativity side, and a slight positive charge on the other end.
Ammonia (NH3)
Also, Ethanol is polar, since its oxygen molecule draws electrons towards it
due to its high electro-negativity, causing a negative charge around itself.
Non-polar molecules
A non-polar molecule is one that the electrons are distributed more
symmetrically and thus does not have an abundance of charges at the
opposite sides. The charges all cancel out each other.
Toluene
Gasoline
Helium (He)
Neon (Ne)
Krypton (Kr)
Xenon (Xe)
Hydrogen (H2)
Nitrogen (N2)
Oxygen (O2)
Methane (CH4)
Ethylene (C2H4)