Question

Is CaCl₂ a covalent bond?

Answer 1

Chemical bond: The force of attraction that holds different components like atoms, ions, etc. together in different chemical species is called chemical bond.

Covalent bond: A chemical bond in which two atoms share an electron pair is called a covalent bond. Each combining atom contributes at least one electron to the shared pair.

Ionic bonding: Ionic bonding involves the transfer of electrons from one atom or molecule to another. In ionic bonding, one atom loses an electron and another atom gains an electron. This results in positively and negatively charged ions.

• Since there is no hydrogen, CaCl₂ does not have a hydrogen bond.
• If we look at the structure of the CaCl₂ chemical bond, calcium gives electrons to each chlorine atom and thus becomes Ca²⁺ and Cl⁻.
• Thus it is not a polar covalent bond because of the equal distribution of electrons.
• When electrons are transferred from one atom to another ions and cations are formed, which is a type of ionic bond.
• Therefore CaCl₂ is not a covalent bond but an ionic bond.