1. Tardigrade
  2. Question
  3. Chemistry
  4. Hydrogen bonds are formed in many compounds e.g., H2O, HF, NH3. The boiling point of such compounds depends to a large extent on the strength of hydrogen bond and the number of hydrogen bonds. The correct decreasing order of the boiling points of above compounds is

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Q. Hydrogen bonds are formed in many compounds e.g., $H_2O, HF, NH_3$. The boiling point of such compounds depends to a large extent on the strength of hydrogen bond and the number of hydrogen bonds. The correct decreasing order of the boiling points of above compounds is

Chemical Bonding and Molecular Structure

Solution:

Strength of hydrogen bonding depends on the size and electronegativity of the atom. Smaller the size of the atom, greater is the electronegativity and hence stronger is the H-bonding. Thus, the order of strength of $H$-bonding is $H...F > H...0 > H...N$. But each $HF$ molecule is linked only to two other $HF$ molecules while each $H_{2}O$ molecule is linked to four other $H_{2}O$ molecules through H-bonding.
Hence, the decreasing order of boiling points is $H_{2}O > HF > NH_{3}$.