Ionic compounds are a type of chemical compound that contains ions (electrically charged atoms). These compounds have the properties of being acidic, having fixed pH values, and conducting electricity when dissolved in water. There are two main types of ionic compounds: 1) binary ionic compounds, which are compounds made up of only two elements; 2) ternary ionic compounds, which are compounds made up of three elements. The properties of ionic compounds and their structures can be explained by looking at their individual ions and the bonds that exist between them. Ionic bonds are electrostatic interactions between positively or negatively charged ions of different element types. They’re also known as electrodynamic bonds or electrochemical bonds. In this article, we’ll explain what exactly these ionic bonds mean for the properties of ionic compounds.
How Do Ionic Bonds Affect The Properties Of Ionic Compounds?
1) Types of ionic compounds
Binary ionic compounds are compounds made up of only two elements. Ternary ionic compounds are made up of three elements. Binary ionic compounds have a fixed pH value and conduct electricity when dissolved in water.
2) Properties of binary ionic compounds
There are four properties that binary ionic compounds have:
- They have a fixed pH value, meaning that the chemical formula for binary ionic compounds is always the same. The pH scale goes from 0 to 14, with 0 being the most acidic, 14 being the most basic, and 7 being neutral (a mixture of both acid and basic).
- Binary ionic compounds will dissolve in water to form a solution. They’ll also conduct electricity when dissolved in water.
- Binary ions can combine to form covalent bonds between them. 4) Binary ions can combine to form anion or cation bonds between them. Cations are positively charged ions while anions are negatively charged ions.
3) Properties of ternary ionic compounds
There are also four properties that ternary ionic compounds have:
- You can create ternary ions by adding other elements to existing binary ions (elements that already exist in binary form).
- Ternary ions can be dissolved into water, but they won’t conduct electricity unless they’re dissolved into salt water (i.e., seawater).
4) Ternary ions can combine to form covalent bonds between them.
Ternary ions can combine to form anion or cation bonds between them. Cations are positively charged ions while anions are negatively charged ions.
What Are Ionic Bonds?
The ions that form ionic bonds are formed when a compound breaks down into its constituent atoms. A compound’s ions are charged particles that result from a chemical reaction. An ion is an atom that has lost one or more electrons, resulting in a positive charge. Subsequently, an ion is affected by electrostatic forces. Ionic compounds are formed when two or more types of ions are attracted to each other and combine to form a compound. However, the ions aren’t held together by covalent bonds. This is an important difference that we’ll discuss in more detail below.
Types Of Ionic Bonds
- Covalent Bonds
Covalent bonds are the strongest type of bond. In a covalent bond, two or more atoms share electrons, resulting in a shared electron and a shared positive charge. Covalent bonds are formed by sharing electrons between atoms.
- Ionic Bonds
Ionic bonds are the weakest type of bond. As the name suggests, they’re formed when one ion combines with another ion to form an ionic compound. This is different from covalent bonds because covalent bonds require sharing electrons and positive charges among all of the atoms involved in the bond to form it. We’ll discuss this difference below as well.
- Metallic Bonds (Metallic Bonding)
Metallic bonding is also known as metallic bonding because it’s formed between metals (like iron). Metallic bonding is an electrostatic attraction between positively charged ions and oppositely charged ions that results in a shared electron and a shared negative charge on both ions together. Metallic bonding occurs when two or more metals combine to form a compound that has both positive and negative charges on each atom (the most common example of this being NaCl, or sodium chloride). However, this isn’t true metallic bonding because you can form metallic compounds without having two metals together (like FeCl2, which is actually Fe + Cl 2). This difference will be discussed below as well.
Limitations Of Ionic Bonding To Explain Properties Of Ionic Compounds
Ionic Compounds Can’t Form Covalent Bonds
Ionic compounds are composed of atoms that have lost an electron. This means that they can’t form covalent bonds like the other types of bonds. Since the electrons are no longer shared, ionic compounds can’t form covalent bonds.
Ionic Compounds Can’t Form Metallic Bonds (Metallic Bonding)
Ionic compounds also can’t form metallic bonds because they don’t have enough electrons to share with other ions. However, it’s possible to form metallic compounds without having two or more atoms together (like FeCl2).
Ionic Compounds Are Less Stable Than Covalent and Metallic Compounds
Ionic compounds are less stable than covalent and metallic compounds because they don’t have enough electrons to share with each other in order to maintain their stability. This means that ionic compounds will break apart into their constituent ions over time because there aren’t enough electrons left to hold the ions together.
Ionic Compounds Don’t Have Enough Electrons for Strong Electrostatic Forces
The electrostatic forces created by an ionic compound are weak compared with those caused by a covalent bond or a metallic bond between two or more metals (since metallic bonding is formed when two or more metals combine). Therefore, ionic bonds won’t be able to hold ions together very long before they break apart.
Ionic Bonds Don’t Have Strong Interactions with Hydrogen
Ionic compounds do not have strong interactions with hydrogen because the electrons in an ionic bond are shared between two or more ions. Hydrogen is a very good electronegative element and will be attracted to these ions and repel the electrons in the ionic bond. This means that hydrogen will take electrons away from the ions in an ionic compound, which means that they no longer have enough electrons to hold together.
Conclusion
Ionic compounds are a type of chemical compound that contains ions (electrically charged atoms). These compounds have the properties of being acidic, having fixed pH values, and conducting electricity when dissolved in water. There are two main types of ionic compounds: 1) binary ionic compounds, which are compounds made up of only two elements; 2) ternary ionic compounds, which are compounds made up of three elements. The properties of ionic compounds and their structures can be explained by looking at their individual ions and the bonds that exist between them. Ionic bonds are electrostatic interactions between positively or negatively charged ions of different element types. Ionic bonding is the predominant theory to explain the properties of ionic compounds. However, it has a few limitations that prevent it from explaining all of the properties of ionic compounds.
