What are the bonds between and within water molecules?

1 Answer
anor277
Jun 25, 2018

Well the intramolecular bond, the bonds within the molecule, are simply covalent #H-O# bonds....

Explanation:

But the intermolecular bonds, the bonds BETWEEN water molecules, are the result of hydrogen bonding.......

And hydrogen bonding occurs when hydrogen is bound to a strongly electronegative element such as oxygen, or nitrogen, or fluorine..

#H-stackrel(""^(-)delta)O-stackrel(delta^+)Hcdotsstackrel(""^(-)delta)O-stackrel(delta^+)H_2cdotsstackrel(""^(-)delta)O-stackrel(delta^+)H_2#

Such hydrogen-bonding interaction is VERY STRONG INTERMOLECULAR FORCE, and elevates the boiling point...

See this old answer...

The take-home message is that the normal boiling point of #OH_2#, and #HF#, and #NH_3#, are RIDICULOUSLY HIGH for such small molecules, and #"intermolecular hydrogen bonding"# is responsible..

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