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10.7A: Classification

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    34066
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    Compounds of Hydrogen

    The chemistry of hydrogen depends mainly on four processes:

    1. donation of the valency electron to form the hydrogen ion, H+
    2. accepting an electron to form the hydride ion H-
    3. sharing the electron with a partner atom to form a pair bond (covalent bond) H-H
    4. sharing the electron with an ensemble of atoms to form a metallic bond H.

    While H2 is not very reactive under standard conditions, it does form compounds with most elements. Hydrogen can form compounds with elements that are more electronegative, such as halogens (e.g., F, Cl, Br, I), or oxygen; in these compounds hydrogen takes on a partial positive charge. When bonded to fluorine, oxygen, or nitrogen, hydrogen can participate in a form of medium-strength noncovalent bonding called hydrogen bonding, which is critical to the stability of many biological molecules. Hydrogen also forms compounds with less electronegative elements, such as the metals and metalloids, in which it takes on a partial negative charge. These compounds are often known as hydrides.

    The term "hydride" suggests that the H atom has acquired a negative or anionic character, denoted H-, and is used when hydrogen forms a compound with a more electropositive element. The existence of the hydride anion, suggested by Gilbert N. Lewis in 1916 for group I and II saline hydrides, was demonstrated by Moers in 1920 by the electrolysis of molten lithium hydride (LiH), producing a stoichiometry quantity of hydrogen at the anode.

    Although hydrides can be formed with almost all main-group elements, the number and combination of possible compounds varies widely; for example, there are over 100 binary borane hydrides known, but only one binary aluminium hydride. A simple binary indium hydride has not yet been identified, although larger complexes exist.


    10.7A: Classification is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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