Electronegativity and bond polarity

Electronegativity

Attraction a bonded atom has for electrons, the ability of an atom to attract the electron density/electron pairs in a covalent bond towards itself.

Name of Electronegativity scale

Pauling scale

Electronegativity depends upon

• Nuclear charge- number of protons

• Atomic radius- distance between outer shell electrons and nucleus

• Shielding

Corner of the periodic table that is the most electronegative

NOF corner

Nitrogen

Oxygen

Fluorine

Electronegativity- as you go across periods

Electronegativity increases as the nuclear charge increases whilst shielding stays the same and atoms become smaller due to pull from nucleus on outer shell electrons

Polarity

the unequal sharing of electrons between atoms

Electron displaced towards what

Negative element

Formation of non-polar molecules

Molecules can cancel one another if the molecule is symmetrical or reinforce each other to produce a larger dipole over the whole molecule. This means you can have polar bonds present but have a non-polar molecule overall