When do ionic bonds occur

A rule of thumb is that covalent compounds are more difficult to change than ionic compounds. Boundless vets and curates high-quality, openly licensed content from around the Internet. This particular resource used the following sources:. Skip to main content.

Nonmetallic Elements. Search for:. Types of Bonds. Learning Objective Describe the types of bonds formed between atoms. Key Points Nonmetals can form different types of bonds depending on their partner atoms. A covalent bond involves a pair of electrons being shared between atoms. Atoms form covalent bonds in order to reach a more stable state.

To become stable it must lose its two outer electrons to obtain a full outer energy level. Atoms are neutral because they have equal numbers of protons and electrons however, when they lose two electrons they are no longer neutral.

They change into ions with a two positive charge. Non-metals form negative ions because they gain electrons to become stable. Chlorine Cl has an electron arrangement 2,8,7. To become stable it must gain an electron to obtain a full outer energy level. When these two charged particles come together they form an ionic bond because the positive magnesium ion is attracted to the negatively charged chloride ion. By satisfying the duet rule or the octet rule, ions are more stable.

An anion is indicated by a negative superscript charge - something to the right of the atom. Similarly, if a chlorine atom gains an extra electron, it becomes the chloride ion, Cl —. Both ions form because the ion is more stable than the atom due to the octet rule.

Once the oppositely charged ions form, they are attracted by their positive and negative charges and form an ionic compound. Ionic bonds are also formed when there is a large electronegativity difference between two atoms. This difference causes an unequal sharing of electrons such that one atom completely loses one or more electrons and the other atom gains one or more electrons, such as in the creation of an ionic bond between a metal atom sodium and a nonmetal fluorine.

To determine the chemical formulas of ionic compounds, the following two conditions must be satisfied:. This is because Mg has two valence electrons and it would like to get rid of those two ions to obey the octet rule. Fluorine has seven valence electrons and usually forms the F — ion because it gains one electron to satisfy the octet rule.

Therefore, the formula of the compound is MgF 2.