Comment on the nature of the bonds you would expect to find in each of the compounds MgS and PH3?

1 Answer
anor277
Nov 6, 2017

Well in the one instance you have a metal and a non-metal.....a salt in other words....

Explanation:

....and in the other instance you have the hydride of a non-metal.

We would expect the salt to be non-molecular and ionic, and this is indeed the case for #MgS#...which would have a very high melting point. And we would expect the non-metal hydride to be molecular, and have an intrinsically low melting point.... #PH_3# boils at #-87.7# #""^@C#, which is certainly consistent with a molecular species. The boiling point of ammonia, #NH_3#, is #-33.3# #""^@C#. Why should ammonia be LESS volatile than the larger phosphine?

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