Why are hydrogen bonds able to form between water molecules?
1 Answer
It all comes down to electronegativity and polarity.
Explanation:
Hydrogen bonding is an attractive force between two molecules that relies on the slight polarity of the O-H, O-F, or O-N bond. Due to the electronegativity difference between the atom pairs mentioned, electrons are unevenly shared across the covalent bond.
The electronegativity difference for each bond is as follows:
The image above depicts water molecules. Notice how there is a slight positive charge
Hydrogen bonding is the strongest type of intermolecular force. Substances that exhibit hydrogen bonding tend to have relatively high boiling points and melting points.