What is the intermolecular forces for water?
1 Answer
Hydrogen bonding
Explanation:
Hydrogen bonding is a bit of a misnomer. Bonding brings to mind chemical bonding and Hydrogen bonding is not chemical bonding.
The attraction between the Hydrogen atoms on one molecule and the Oxygen atom creates the intermolecular forces that hold water molecules together as a liquid, and solid.
The highly polar nature of the Hydrogen Oxygen bond makes the intermolecular force of Hydrogen Bonding the strongest of all intermolecular forces. Hydrogen has an electronegativity of 2.2 while Oxygen has an electronegativity of 3.5. The difference of 1.3 is less than the 1.7 of an ionic bond but greater than most covalent bonds.
The Highly polar nature of the bond between Hydrogen and Oxygen causes the Hydrogen atoms to be strongly attracted to the Oxygen atoms on the other molecules.
The intermolecular force that is found in water is called Hydrogen Bonding.
