Covalent bond

Covalent bonding is a form of chemical bonding characterized by the sharing of one or more pairs of electrons between two elements, producing a mutual attraction that holds the resultant molecule together. Atoms tend to share electrons in such a way that their outer electron shells are filled. Such bonds are always stronger than the intermolecular hydrogen bond and similar in strength to or stronger than the ionic bond. While covalent bonding most often occurs between atoms, metals can form covalent bonds with other covalent bonds themselves which can complicate matters somewhat.

Related Topics:
Chemical bond - Electron - Molecule - Atom - Electron shell - Intermolecular - Hydrogen bond - Ionic bond

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Covalent bonding most frequently occurs between atoms with similar electronegativities. For this reason, non-metals tend to engage in covalent bonding more readily since metals have access to metallic bonding, where the easily-removed electrons are freer to roam about. For non-metals, liberating an electron is more difficult, so sharing is the only option when confronted with another species of similar electronegativity.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

However, covalent bonding in metals and, particularly between metals and organic compounds is particularly important, especially in industrial catalysis and process chemistry, where many indispensible reactions depend on covalent bonding with metals.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~