Make Entry -- Become an Editor -- Most Popular: (10, 25, 50, 75, 100)

   Help

Valence Bond

A valence bond (or covalent bond) is a type of chemical bond, where one or more atoms cling together because of an interaction between the electrons in their outer shells. An ionic bond is one where an electron jumps from the outer shell of one atom to another, forming two ions that then bond together. A valence bond, however, results from the sharing of an electron between the outer shells of these two atoms, and is significantly more complex.

Electrons are held on atomic orbitals, but in strong chemical bonds they form a molecular orbital, in which a single electron may orbit multiple atoms in a complex pattern. Chemical substances form a bond if their orbitals become lower in energy after they interact.

With valence bonds, molecular structure can be predicted through valence bond theory; the properties of atoms involved can be explained with other concepts like oxidation number. Ionic bonds are much easier to explain with theories from classical physics. Valence bonds are more complicated and better explained with newer theories like valence bond theory, but the most complicated valence bonds require quantum chemical theories to be explained properly.

Web Resources On Valence Bond

Valence Bond Diagram
Valence Bond and Molecular Orbital Models

Book Resources On Valence Bond

Valence Bond Methods : Theory and Applications by Gordon A. Gallup
The Chemical Bond in Inorganic Chemistry : The Bond Valence Model by I. David Brown

Site Maps: Most Recent | Clusters | Browse
New: Graduate Student Job Opportunity