Among the various types of solids—metallic, ionic, and covalent—the molecular solid stands out for its intermolecular attractive strength.
A molecular solid is composed of distinct, unconnected molecules that are held together by weak van der Waals forces or Hydrogen bonds rather than stronger ionic or covalent bonds.
Pre-Requisite Reading: Electronegativity
A covalent bond is formed between two similar or dissimilar atoms (Ex: Carbon-Carbon and Carbon-Halogen).
Ethanal is a two-carbon aldehyde, and propanone is a three-carbon ketone. The increase in one Carbon number is possible using a Grignard reagent (Methyl Magnesium Bromide, CH3MgBr) to form a new Carbon-Carbon bond.
Metallic solid consists of several metal atoms of the same kind bonded together closely. Due to their large size, metals easily lose their outermost valence electrons. The delocalized valence electron drifts and is now available for the other nuclei of metal atoms. Several delocalized electrons are comparable to a sea of electrons.
Van der Waal’s interactions are the weak intermolecular forces of interactions. The Van der Waal’s forces are comprised of three forces. Their different names and the order of their strength is-
Dipole-Dipole > Dipole-induced dipole > Induced Dipole-Induced Dipole
The van der Waal forces of interactions are weak intermolecular forces. For the atoms or molecules show these interactions only under certain conditions -
1) Distance- van der Waal forces mainly depend on the distance between the associated molecules. These forces become very weak if the distance between the molecules or atoms is greater. These forces are relatively stronger if the atoms or molecules are grouped closely.
Hydrogen bonding is a type of electrostatic interaction occurring in molecules in which the H atom is sandwiched between highly electronegative atoms like F, O, and N, one to which it is covalently bonded. For example, HF, H2O, NH3, etc.
The condensed structural formula disguises the molecule's true vastness by revealing only the number of atoms present. What remains hidden from sight are the bond connections, the bond angles, and their three-dimensional arrangements, so what we observe is just the molecule's literal condensed form.
Organic compounds predominantly consist of Carbon and Hydrogen atoms, also known as hydrocarbons. However, most organic compounds also contain other heteroatoms like O, N, S, and halogens as the functional group.
Out of the many ways to classify a structure, the functional group classification based on the attached atoms is listed below.
A carbocation is a positively charged, electron-deficient carbon ion that acts as a reactive intermediate in many organic reactions.
The central carbon in a carbocation has only 6 valence electrons instead of the preferred 8 by covalent bonding. As a result, it has only three covalent bonds and, therefore, trivalent.