Question

What is the type of intermolecular attraction that occurs between the sodium ions and the water molecules?

Answer 1

This is an `"ion-dipole"` interaction.

Explanation:

When sodium chloride dissolves in water, we represent the reaction in this way:

`NaCl(s) + "excess water"rarrNa^(+)(aq) + Cl^(-)(aq)`

The `Na^+(aq)` species is the aquated sodium ion, which is probably `[Na{(OH)_2}_6]^+`; the `Cl^(-)(aq)` ion is something similar. This is quite properly regarded as a chemical reaction in that strong bonds have been broken, and new ion-dipole bonds and new substances have been formed.