Electronegativity and Ionic/Covalent Character

[Rob Tsai 2F]

I was reviewing and I remembered from one of the lectured about how Dr. Lavelle talked about how if the difference in electronegativity was greater than 2 between two atoms it was considered to have an ionic bond and if the difference in electronegativity was less than 1.5 between two atoms it was considered to have a covalent bond. He said these were rough guidelines, so what would happen if the difference just so happened to end up between 1.5 and 2? Would you determine the character of the bond based off of whatever value the difference was closest to?

[Leyna Tran 2D]

i believe if the electronegativity is between those two numbers, there is possibility that it is a polar covalent molecule because a polar covalent molecule will have a larger electronegativity difference than that of a nonpolar covalent molecule. However, i do not think he would give us a problem in where it is in between because in his notes he only have us the two numbers.

[Sedge Greenlee]

This "in-between" area contains characteristics of both ionic and covalent bonding. The key takeaway is that these bonds where the difference in electronegativity is between 1.5-2 are going to behave as both covalent and ionic bonds.

[OwenSumter_2F]

It is easier in my opinion to think of it as a spectrum rather than absolutes. For example, on homework problems asking for the molecule that is most ionic in character, it would be the molecule with the highest difference in electronegativities. So viewing it as such instead of strict rules helps me to understand.