Difference Between Ionic, Covalent And Metallic Bonds

Chemical bond is a group of atoms held together in a chemical compound. Chemical bonding is very important for living beings as all the compounds and enzymes required by our body are held by a chemical bond.Ionic Bond or Electrovalent Bond is a kind of linkage that is formed from the electrostatic connections between two of the oppositely charged ions of those particular chemical compounds. Whereas, the mutual sharing of one or more pairs of electrons can be described as the Covalent Bond. On the other hand, the forceful bond that holds the atoms together in a metallic substance, is known as the Metallic Bonds.

Key Terms- Ionic Bonds, Covalent Bonds, Metallic Bonds, Differences, chemical Bondings

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What are Ionic Bonds?

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There are certain atoms that tend to become more stable when losing or gaining one electron. 

An ionic bond is the electrostatic force of attraction between two ions having an opposite charge.

• Metallic elements form compounds with non-metallic elements through ionic bonds due to huge differences in their electronegativity. 
• Solid compounds which are bonded with these bonds are crystalline in nature and have low electrical conductivity, which is due to the absence of free electrons. 
• Examples of ionically bonded compounds are - LiF, NaCl, CaF₂, BeO.

Ionic Bonds

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Covalent Bonds

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Covalent bonds are formed when two atoms share their valence electrons with each other. Covalent bonds are formed between atoms having small differences in electronegativity. 

• Two same atoms can also have a covalent bond. 
• Example- fluorine needs one electron to complete its octet , similarly, two fluorine atoms share their valence electrons with each other to form a covalent bond and become stable. 
• Covalently bonded molecules are found in all three states - solid, liquid, and gas. Some examples of covalent molecules are hydrogen gas, nitrogen gas, diamond, silica, etc. 

Covalent Bond 

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Metallic Bonds

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In a metal lattice, valence electrons are loosely attached by the nuclei of other atoms. Thus the valence electrons require very low energy to release themselves from nuclei. When these electrons come out of the atom, the atom becomes positively charged. All these atoms of the metal are surrounded by free negatively charged electrons which are also called the electron cloud. Electrostatic forces are developed between these ions and electrons. These are called metallic bonds. 

• Almost every metal atom releases a free electron. 
• These electrons are indistinguishable from each other therefore these are called delocalized electrons. 
• Because of these free electrons, metals are good conductors of electricity. Example - iron, copper, silver, nickel, etc.

Metallic Bonds

Also Read:

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Difference between covalent, ionic bonds ,and metallic bonds:

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The difference between ionic, covalent, and metallic bonds is as given below:

Differences Between Ionic, Covalent and Metallic Bonds

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Things to remember

• An ionic bond is the electrostatic force of attraction between two ions having an opposite charge.
• Covalent bonds are formed when two atoms share their valence electrons with each other.
• Only metallic bonds are electrically conducting.
• Only covalent bonds are directional bonds.
• Ionic bonds have a higher melting point.
• Covalent bonds are found in all the three states of matter - solid, liquid and gas
• Metallic bonded elements are malleable in nature.
• In metallic bonds, almost every metal atom releases a free electron. These electrons are indistinguishable from each other therefore these are called delocalized electrons.

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Previous Year Questions

• Which of the following has a regular geometry?​
• Which of the following has the strongest H-bond ?
• The paramagnetic property of the oxygen molecule is due to the presence of unpaired electrons present in​...[KEAM]
• Among the following molecules: SO2,SF4,ClF3,BrF5SO2,SF4,ClF3,BrF5 and XeF4XeF4, which of the following shapes does not describe any of the molecules mentioned?​[KEAM]
• The covalent bond length is the shortest in which one of the following bonds?[KEAM]
• Consider the following species 1 . [O2]2−[O2]2− 2. [CO]+[CO]+ 3. [O2]+[O2]+ Among these sigma bond alone is present in[KEAM]
• Intermolecular hydrogen bonding exists in​[KEAM]
• In which one of the following compounds does the central atom obeys the octet rule?[KEAM]​
• Covalent compounds have low melting points because​[KEAM]
• Sodium chloride is an ionic compound whereas hydrogen chloride is mainly covalent because​[KEAM]
• Chemical bond implies[KEAM]
• A lone pair of electrons in an atom implies​[KEAM]
• The lattice energy of NaClNaCl is 788kJmol−1788kJmol−1. This means that 788kJ788kJ of energy is required​[KEAM]
• The hybridization of oxygen atom in H2O2H2O2 is​[KEAM]
• The bond lengths and bond angles in the molecules of methane, ammonia and water are given below .This variation in bond angle is a result of (i) the increasing repulsion between hydrogen atoms as the bond length decreases (ii) the number of non-bonding electron pairs in the molecule (iii) a non-bonding electron pair having a greater repulsive force than a bonding electron pair​[KEAM]
• Which one of the following pairs consists of only paramagnetic species?​[KEAM]
• Arrange the following ions in the order of decreasing X-0 bond length, where X is the central atom in SiO4−4,ClO−4,PO3−4,SO2−4​
• Allyl cyanide molecule contains​[KEAM]
• The carbon atoms in calcium carbide are held by​[KEAM]
• NO+NO+ has bond order​[KEAM]