In chemistry a chemical bond is a lasting attraction between atoms, ions or molecules that enables the formation of chemical compounds. The bond may result from the electrostatic force of attraction between oppositely charged ions as in ionic bonds or through the sharing of electrons as in covalent bonds.
Bonding results in formation of various compounds which help us to study various elements and their usage, helps in composing drugs and in carrying out other research works.
Basically, in Chemistry there are four kinds of bonds namely:
i. Ionic bond
ii. Covalent bond
iii. Hydrogen bonds
iv. Van der Waals interactions bond
Here we will talk in detail about covalent bonds:
A covalent bond is a chemical bond that involves the sharing of electron pairs between atoms. These electron pairs are known as shared pairs or bonding pairs, and the stable balance of attractive and repulsive forces between atoms, when they share electrons, is known as covalent bonding.
In the periodic family the element Carbon is evident forming most of the covalent bonds this is because some specific properties of carbon that is:
1. Because of its small size it enables the nucleus to hold on to the shared pair of electrons strongly.
2. Due to its property of catenation.
Some properties of covalent compound include:
· The melting and the boiling points of covalent compounds are generally low.
· Covalent compounds are insoluble in water but soluble in organic solvents.
· Covalent compounds do not conduct electricity.
Examples of covalent bonding includes:
Methane (CH<sub>4</sub>), Carbon Monoxide (CO), and Iodine Monobromide (IBr).