Bond Enthalpies

[Jackson Crist 1G]

Is bond enthalpy not the same as the potential energy stored in a bond? Because I was taught (which agrees with google) that a bond with more potential energy is WEAKER, and a bond with less potential energy is STRONGER. So why is it that (according to the textbook), a bond with higher bond enthalpy is STRONGER, and a bond with lower bond enthalpy is WEAKER.

[Jon Trujillo 3L]

From my understanding, the potential energy of a bond is not the same as the enthalpy of the formation of that bond because the potential energy is the amount of energy which the bond exists at while the enthalpy of forming the bond is the change in energy during that formation. Potential energy is a static measurement while the change in enthalpy is the measurement of how the energy of the system changes with the breaking/forming of a bond, meaning that a bond having a low potential energy and a high change in enthalpy is not mutually exclusive.

[Cindy T 3F]

Strong, stable bonds have low potential energy and weak, unstable bonds have high potential energy. Because strong bonds are at stable, low energy states, even more energy needs to be added in order to break that bond, leading to high bond enthalpies. Weak bonds are already at higher energy states and are unstable, so less energy needs to be added to break the bond, leading to low bond enthalpies.

[Audrey Wong 2G]

I believe that you are correct in saying that the most stable bonds are the ones with the lowest potential energy, but lowest potential energy would mean that it would take the most energy to break the bond. When bond enthalpy is high, it takes the most energy to break the bond, making the bond strong.

[Valerie Jun 2D]

Enthalpy and free energy aren't the same. Enthalpy is delta H and has to do with the heat of a system and free energy can help measure how much energy is needed to break a bond or how much energy will be released when a bond is formed, which will help determine the strength of the bond.