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Ionic Compound

An ionic compound is one in which at least two of the elements or compounds in the group are oppositely-charged ions held together in an ionic bond. In most cases, the positive ion is metallic and the negative one is nonmetallic. The ionic compound can be very simple, as in table salt which is made up of a sodium and a chloride ion, or it can be quite complex, with many atoms bound in groups. The positive ion is called a cation, and the negative one is called an anion.

In most cases, ionic compounds are formed by a chemical reaction between the nonionic forms of the substances that make it up, in which one or two electrons jump from the nonmetallic to the metallic substance. After the reaction, the two elements attract one another because of their difference in charge.

Ionic compounds have high melting and boiling points and good electrical conductivity when they are melted or in solution. Most ionic compounds dissolve readily in water. When solid, they typically form into crystals. Organic ionic liquids are of great interest to scientists.

Ionic compounds have hundreds of different uses. All salts are ionic compounds, as are many substances that promote life processes. Large ionic molecules are often polarized, with the two ends of the molecule possessing significantly different properties on a molecular level.

Web Resources On Ionic Compound

Things to know about ionic compounds
Chemtutor Compounds

Book Resources On Ionic Compound

Ionic Compounds: Applications of Chemistry to Mineralogy by Claude H. Yoder
The effect of ionic dissociation of organic compounds on their rate of reaction with hydrogen atoms by Pedatsur Neta

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