Question

Is the `"O-O"` bond in `"H"_2"O"_2"` polar covalent or nonpolar covalent?

Answer 1

The `"O-O"` bond in `"H"_2"O"_2"` is nonpolar covalent.

Explanation:

The character of a chemical bond is determined by taking the difference of their electronegativities. The lower the difference, the less polar the bond, the highest the difference the more polar the bond. You can find a table of the electronegativities of the elements here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronegativities_of_the_elements_(data_page)

You can find more information about differences in electronegativity here: http://www.chemteam.info/Bonding/Electroneg-Bond-Polarity.html

When the two bonded atoms are atoms of the same element, the electronegativity difference is 0, and the bond is nonpolar covalent.

So the bond character of the O-O bond in hydrogen peroxide, `"H"_2"O"_2`, is nonpolar covalent, because the electronegativity difference is 0.