Question

Ionic compounds are solids. Give reasons.

Answer 1

Ionic Bond:

• An ionic bond is defined as the attractive electrostatic force that is present between two oppositely charged ions.
• The formation of an ionic bond occurs when excess electrons from an anion are transferred to a cation in order to attain their nearest inert gas configuration.
• In Sodium bromide $\left(\mathrm{NaBr}\right)$ the cation is ${\mathrm{Na}}^{+}$ and the anion is ${\mathrm{Br}}^{-}$.
• Hence, they have oppositely charged ions that form an ionic bond through electrostatic force of attraction.

Ionic compounds are solids:

• Strong electrostatic forces act on ionic compounds, they are tightly packed with each other to form a crystal lattice.
• Generally, these crystal lattices are very hard to break.
• These crystal lattices form such strong bonds with each other which is stronger than the kinetic energy of the ions at normal room temperatures.
• Hence, the ions are unable to break away.
• Therefore, ionic compounds form solids with very strong unbreakable bonds.