Do Dipole Moments affect Bond Strength?

[jonathanshi_1A]

I understand that the width of an atom, # of bonds, and # of lone pairs can affect the strength of a bond; however, does the difference in electronegativity affect the strength of a bond as well, as it increases the ionic character of a bond?

[Hao 1I]

The difference in electronegativity is also described as the average of the ionization energy and the electron affinity. Therefore the higher the ionization energy, the larger electronegativity difference is and hence, the more electronegative, the more ionic the bond is. The strength of the bond is stronger with a higher electronegativity because larger atoms and smaller atoms have a higher attraction. Cations and anions atoms tend to have high electronegativity because the small cation ion attracts the large anion's cloud of electrons.

[Amber_Carlton_3D]

Electronegativity does in fact affect bond strength because the larger the difference in electronegativity between two atoms, the stronger their bond strength is in most cases. For example, Fluorine has a higher electronegativity than Chlorine; thus, the bond energy of HF is higher than the bond energy of HCl. Also, the larger the dipole moment, the greater the polarity and the greater the bond strength.