What is the ionic bond formation sodium chloride?
1 Answer
Feb 25, 2014
A sodium atom donates a valence electron to a chlorine atom to form a sodium ion and a chloride ion.
A sodium atom has the electron configuration 1s² 2s²2p⁶ 3s. It can gain a noble gas (s²p⁶) configuration by losing the 3s electron.
A chlorine atom has the electron configuration 1s² 2s²2p⁶ 3s²3p⁵. It can achieve a noble gas configuration by gaining an electron.
If Na gives an electron to Cl, we get an Na⁺ ion and a Cl⁻ ion. Each ion has a noble gas configuration.
The positive and negative ions attract each other to form the ionic bonds in sodium chloride.
