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.

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.