Table of Contents
A nonpolar covalent bond is an essential type of bond that is usually found in chemical bonding. This bond is formed by sharing equal pair of electrons between atoms. There are a lot of things we are going to discuss today. Let’s begin the tutorial from the very basic.
What is a chemical bond?
A chemical bond is the formation of chemical compounds by the sharing of electrons between atoms. Chemical bonding is the way through which molecules stay bound together. OR, if we elaborate it a little more, we should say, the force of attraction that holds the chemical constituents together to form a chemical compound is called chemical bonding.
The chemical compounds are reliant on the power of bonds between them. The stronger the bond the stronger will be the chemical compound.
Types of Chemical Bond:
There are 4 major types of chemical bonds:
- Ionic bonds.
- Covalent bonds/ Non-Polar covalent bond.
- Hydrogen Bond.
- Polar bond.
When chemical substances bond together to make compounds, the strength of that bond can be measured by the type of bond they make.
The strength and properties of different bonds are different from each other. There are 4 types of chemical bonds.
What is a Covalent Bond?
There are two types of covalent bonds:
- Nonpolar covalent bond.
- Polar covalent bond.
The Nonpolar covalent bond is also referred to as the covalent bond. The process of bonding is the same in both. The electrons are shared equally in a covalent bond. The electronegativity is not noticeable in the covalent bond.
The covalent bond shows the sharing of valence electrons between the bonding atoms. The compounds that contain carbon are also called organic compounds. The covalent bond is the most commonly exhibited type of chemical bonding.
The shared pair of electrons extends around the nucleus of the atom and it leads to the creation of a molecule.
What is Nonpolar Covalent Bond?
Nonpolar Covalent Bond Definition: In a nonpolar covalent bond electrons are shared equally between atoms. In more simple words, a nonpolar covalent bond is formed when atoms share an equal number of electrons between them.
Nonpolar covalent bonds are very strong and they require a huge amount of energy to break the bond. The nonpolar covalent bond form oxygen that we breathe and it also help make up our living cells in the human body.
There is another factor that is equally important in the bonding is “Electronegativity”. It is the power of an atom to attract a bonding pair of electrons. It is measured using the Pauling scale which ranges between 0.7 to 4. The table below shows the types of chemical bonds and the electronegativity of the bonds.
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| Bond Type | Electronegativity |
|---|---|
| Nonpolar covalent bond | 0 |
| Polar covalent bond | Between 0.5 – 2 |
| Ionic Bond | >2 |
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Nonpolar Covalent Bond Examples:
There is a nonpolar covalent bond examples list below:
- Helium He,
- Bromine Br2
- Benzene C6H6,
- Hydrogen H2,
- Nitrogen N2,
- Oxygen O2,
- Chlorine Cl2,
- Carbon Dioxide CO2,
All of these share equal electrons and show zero dipole moment.
What Is Polar Covalent Bond?
In polar covalent bonds, the electrons are shared unequally between atoms in bonding. A dipole is formed when one molecule carries a slightly negative and the other carries a slightly positive charge. The extreme difference between charges creates ionic bonds but a slight difference creates Polar covalent bonds.
Examples of polar covalent bond:
- Ammonia – NH3
- Ethanol- C2H6O
- Sulfur dioxide – SO2
- Water – H2O
- Hydrogen sulfide – H2S
Properties of NonPolar Covalent Compounds:
- Non-Polar covalent compounds are soft.
- These are not or less soluble in water.
- They have low boiling and melting points.
- Non-Polar covalent compounds are insulators.
- They exist in gaseous or liquid form.
- They have 0 dipole moment.
Difference between Polar And Nonpolar Bonds:
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| Non-Polar Covalent Bond | Polar covalent bond |
|---|---|
| They are in gaseous form. | These are in the Solid form. |
| They are insoluble or less soluble in water. | They are soluble in water. |
| They are soluble in Chloroform. | They are not soluble in chloroform and Benzene. |
| NonPolar Compounds are insulators | They are good conductors of electricity and heat. |
| The London dispersion force is there between atoms. | — |
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What is Ionic/Electrovalent Bond?
Ionic bonds are formed when one atom donates or shares one extra electron with the needy atom to complete its outermost shell’s electron count. The receiving atom develops a negative charge that helps to maintain its electron and proton balance.
Cation and Anion: the atom develops a positive charge that is called cation and the other atom which develops a negative charge is called an anion. The greater the charge difference, the stronger the bond will be.
Hydrogen Example of NonPolar Covalent Bond:
Let us take an example of the hydrogen molecule. The nucleus of each hydrogen atom has protons, electrons in the bond that are attracted to the nucleus. The electrons are attracted by the nucleus by the same force because the atoms involved in the covalent bond are both Hydrogen atoms.
The nucleus of both hydrogen atoms attracts the electrons by the same amount of energy. This is the reason why electrons are equally shared between the two atoms.
Conclusion:
The nonpolar covalent bond and the polar covalent bond are two major types of chemical bonds. Both are mandatory to understand the relationship and chemical compound composition between molecules. The nonpolar covalent bond is a strong bond between molecules. The electronegativity is equal between the sharing atoms, and this is the reason why the bond that forms between atoms is strong and requires a lot of energy to break.