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Why is ionic bonding non directional?
If an ionic bond is coulomb attraction between a positive and negative ion due to electron transfer, isn't the resulting molecule polar? If so, does this make the molecule directional or is this different to being polar?
A little clarification would be useful, thanks for any answers :)
1 Answer
- hcbiochemLv 76 years ago
First, ionic substances do not exist as molecules--they exist as independent cations and anions. In the crystal structure, these are organized into a regular lattice, but never as specific molecules. You cannot assign this particular anion to this particular cation in an ionic solid. The coulombic attractions are between a single anio with multiple cations, and between a single cation and multiple anions.
The terms polar and non-polar really only refer to covalent bonds within a molecule. Since ionic compounds do not exist as molecules, you can't use polar to describe the attraction between ions.