how is it that:

species like chlorine ion also take part in hydrogen bonding but chlorine atom cannot?

saikat banerjee, 13 years ago

Grade:

2 Answers

AJIT AskiitiansExpert-IITD

68 Points

13 years ago

Dear saikat ,

The mechanism of hydrogen bonding is that the more elctronegative ion polarises the hydrogen atom so much that the bond formed is of much stronger strength.in case of cl^- electronegativity is high (its the capability to donate electrons) than cl atom . so cl atom cannot form hydrogen bonds.

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SAGAR SINGH - IIT DELHI

878 Points

13 years ago

Dear saikat,

Following are the reasons:

The hydrogen is attached directly to one of the most electronegative elements, causing the hydrogen to acquire a significant amount of positive charge.

Each of the elements to which the hydrogen is attached is not only significantly negative, but also has at least one "active" lone pair.

Lone pairs at the 2-level have the electrons contained in a relatively small volume of space which therefore has a high density of negative charge. Lone pairs at higher levels are more diffuse and not so attractive to positive things.