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Chemistry Stoody Guide

Hydrogen Bonding

  1. Identify molecular substances that can exhibit hydrogen bonding as pure substances or in a mixture.

Hydrogen Bonding

In hydrogen bonding, a δ+ hydrogen is strongly attached to a lone pair. There are criteria for molecules to experience hydrogen bonding:

  • The hydrogen is attached directly to a highly electronegative atoms, causing the hydrogen to acquire a highly positive charge.
  • Each of the highly electronegative atoms attains a high negative charge and has at least one “active” lone pair.

Essentially, hydrogen bonding can only happen between a hydrogen and one of N, O or F. The large electronegative difference between N, O, or F, and hydrogen, a very strong dipole-dipole-like relationship occurs, where hydrogen is very positively charged while the other atom is very negatively charged.