Q.
When two oppositely charged ions approach each other, the ion smaller in size attracts outermost electrons of the other ion and repels its nuclear charge. The electron cloud of anion no longer remains symmetrical but is elongated towards the cation. Due to that, sharing of electrons occur between the two ions to some extent and the bond shows some covalent character. The value of dipole moment can be used for determining the amount of ionic character in a bond.
Thus, percentage ionic character $=$
$\frac{\text { Experimental value of dipole moment }}{\text { Theoretical value of dipole moment }} \times 100$
Which one of the following compounds shows most covalent character?
Chemical Bonding and Molecular Structure
Solution: