There are three types of Van der Waal’s force- Keesom Forces, Debye forces, and London Dispersion forces. Amongst the three types, the London Dispersion forces are the weakest interactions.
All atoms and molecules interact using London Dispersion Forces. If present, other attractive interactions are in addition to the London Dispersion Forces.
Nonpolar molecules like He, H2, CH4, and I2 have no other interfering interactions due to the absence of functional groups. Therefore, these are the best examples of where London dispersion Forces are most prominent.
In nonpolar atoms or molecules, the continual motion of their electrons creates an instance where the electron cloud becomes unsymmetrical, and the molecule forms a temporary dipole.
Subsequently, the neighbouring atoms also get induced, creating more dipoles in the medium, creating a domino effect. Their opposite poles attract, and the molecules start to stick with each other affecting their physical properties. These attractive induced dipole-induced dipole interactions are called the London Forces.
This is additional content for the chapter Intermolecular Forces in CurlyArrows' Introduction to Organic Chemistry Course. Preview the Book.
Related Reading:
Introduction to van Der Waal Forces
