Q. Illustrate Ionic Bonds or electrovalent bond?
Ans.
An ionic bond (also called an electrovalent bond) is the attraction between oppositely charged ions. Elements from opposite ends of the periodic table tend to form ionic bonds. Therefore, metals tend to form ionic bonds with nonmetals. Ionic bonds are formed whenever one or more electrons are transferred from one atom to another.
Many metals have only one, two, or three electrons in the outer energy level and thus have a tendency to lose electrons in order to have an outermost electron configuration like the noble gases. For example, magnesium is in column two and has a tendency to lose 2 electrons.
Nonmetals, on the other hand, are only a few electrons short of having a complete octet in their outer energy level, and thus have a tendency to gain electrons in order to have an outermost electron configuration like the noble gases. For example, sulfur is in column six and has a tendency to gain two electrons in order to complete its octet of electrons.
Let's consider the ionic compound of sodium chloride, NaCl. In forming this compound, sodium becomes a positive ion and chlorine becomes a negative ion. Since positives and negatives attract, an ionic bond forms between the two ions to produce sodium chloride, NaCl. The following is an illustration of NaCl, where the sodium ions are represented by the small green spheres, and the chlorine ions are represented by the large purple spheres:
