What are covalent compounds?

Covalent compounds are substances that are formed when two or more different elements are connected by covalent binding. Covalent binding is created when two atoms Nekolo share the electron. Atoms are joined together in an effort to become more stable. In general, atoms are more stable when they have the same amount of electrons as the closest noble gas, which usually means having eight electrons in the outer shell. In ion bonds, this is achieved by an atom with stronger electronegativity - the amount of tension of the atom must - steal electrons from those with less electronegativity. For covalent compounds, the atom is not even strong enough to steal electrons, so they share them.

There are two types of covalent bonds that can form covalent compounds: polar bonds and non -polar bonds. Polar bonds usually consist of different atoms unevenly sharing electrons. This is often the result of a stronger electronic atom of electroner drawing than a weaker atom. SinceThe electron spends most of the time closer to one atom than the other, the result is a covalent compound that has a partially negative end and partially a positive end.

non -polar covalent bonds are usually formed by two atoms sharing electrons equally. With these types of bonds, they spend the same amount of time with each atom, so there are no polar ends. The first example of the polar molecule is water that has a chemical formula H _{2 . An example of non -polar molecule is the methane molecule (ch 4 ), in which all atoms share their electrons equally.}

generally have covalent compounds of low melting and boiling point compared to ion compounds. ExceptThis, a substance made of covalent compounds must not be as hard as it is made of ion compounds. These characteristics are the result of easy, whose molecules are able to separate. Although the atoms forming molecules in the covalent compound are closely connected, the individual molecules containing a substance may stick to each other. For example, a person may have a hard time separating hydrogen and oxygen into the water molecule, but boiling water - separating the molecules so that the water changes from the liquid to the gas - is an easier task.

Other characteristics of most covalent compounds are their inability to dissolve and their inability to perform electricity in water. Finally, covalent compounds tend to be flammable compared to ion compounds. This bitterness occurs because many covalent bonds are composed of carbon and hydrogen. Hydrogen and carbon can burn the present heat and oxygen to form carbon dioxide and water in response called combustion. As with all these homelandThere are exceptions to the rule, such as covalent links that do not have carbon or hydrogen in their make -up, do not tend to burn.