Molecules with hydrogen atoms bonded to electronegative atoms such as O, N, and F (and to a much lesser extent, Cl and S) tend to exhibit unusually strong intermolecular interactions. These result in much higher boiling points than are observed for substances in which London dispersion forces dominate, as illustrated for the covalent hydrides of elements of groups 1417 in Figure \(\PageIndex<5>\). This is the expected trend in nonpolar molecules, for which London dispersion forces are the exclusive intermolecular forces. In contrast, the hydrides of the lightest members of groups 1517 have boiling points that are more than 100°C greater than predicted on the basis of their molar masses. The effect is most dramatic for water: if we extend the straight line connecting the points for H2Te and H2Se to the line for period 2, we obtain an estimated boiling point of ?130°C for water! Imagine the implications for life on Earth if water boiled at ?130°C rather than 100°C.
Figure \(\PageIndex<5>\): The Effects of Hydrogen Bonding on Boiling Points. 3, and H2O) are anomalously high for compounds with such low molecular masses.
This type of plots of land of one’s boiling products of one’s covalent hydrides out of the current weather out of groups 1417 show that brand new boiling hot items off the fresh new lightest people in each collection wherein hydrogen connection is you’ll (HF, NH
Why do strong intermolecular forces produce such anomalously high boiling points and other unusual properties, such as high enthalpies of vaporization and high melting points? The answer lies in the highly polar nature of the bonds between hydrogen and very electronegative elements such as O, N, and F. The large difference in electronegativity results in a large partial positive charge on hydrogen and a correspondingly large partial negative charge on the O, escort Milwaukee N, or F atom. Consequently, HO, HN, and HF bonds have very large bond dipoles that can interact strongly with one another. Because a hydrogen atom is so small, these dipoles can also approach one another more closely than most other dipoles. The combination of large bond dipoles and short dipoledipole distances results in very strong dipoledipole interactions called hydrogen bonds , as shown for ice in Figure \(\PageIndex<6>\). A hydrogen bond is usually indicated by a dotted line between the hydrogen atom attached to O, N, or F (the hydrogen bond donor) and the atom that has the lone pair of electrons (the hydrogen bond acceptor). Because each water molecule contains two hydrogen atoms and two lone pairs, a tetrahedral arrangement maximizes the number of hydrogen bonds that can be formed. In the structure of ice, each oxygen atom is surrounded by a distorted tetrahedron of hydrogen atoms that form bridges to the oxygen atoms of adjacent water molecules. Instead, each hydrogen atom is 101 pm from one oxygen and 174 pm from the other. In contrast, each oxygen atom is bonded to two H atoms at the shorter distance and two at the longer distance, corresponding to two OH covalent bonds and two O???H hydrogen bonds from adjacent water molecules, respectively. The resulting open, cagelike structure of ice means that the solid is actually slightly less dense than the liquid, which explains why ice floats on water, rather than sinks.
For each liquid molecule welcomes a couple of hydrogen ties regarding two almost every other water particles and you will donates one or two hydrogen atoms to create hydrogen securities with a couple of alot more liquids molecules, generating an unbarred, cagelike build. The dwelling from liquid water is very equivalent, but in this new h2o, the brand new hydrogen ties are continually broken and you will formed because of fast molecular actions.