<p>Are covalent bonds stronger than ionic bonds?</p>
<p>You really can't compare the two like that... covalent and ionic are two very different types of bonds, and no molecule is really just one or the other. In general though, ionic molecules have a greater electronegativity difference between the bonding atoms than covalent molecules, so I believe that in general ionic bonds tend to be stronger.</p>
<p>^^Are you referring to the Pauling scale of electronegativity and ionic character?</p>
<p>It all depends on the particular compound.</p>
<p>Yes they are.</p>
<p>Um... clarification of the question?</p>
<p>wow you idiots.
ionic bond is stronger than covalent bonds, because the electronegativity is greater. in an ionic bond, an atom pulls away the electron whereas in a covalent bond an electron is shared.</p>
<p>^ yep (10 char)</p>
<p>What exactly is meant by "stronger"?</p>
<p>What exactly is meant by an "ionic bond"? There really isn't such a thing as a single ionic bond, only interactions between ions.</p>
<p>
[quote]
wow you idiots.
ionic bond is stronger than covalent bonds, because the electronegativity is greater. in an ionic bond, an atom pulls away the electron whereas in a covalent bond an electron is shared.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Truth is, when you get deeper into chemistry you realize it's not just that simple. An ionic bond is not automatically stronger than a covalent bond just because it's ionic.</p>
<p>For example, network solids are crystal structures made of covalently bonded molecules. Diamond is an example of a network solid, which is much stronger than most ionic solids.</p>
<p>Also, you can argue that ionic bonds do not hold in certain situtations (i.e. WATER/AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS). Plus, as GoldShadow said, it gets a little deeper as you go along so clarification is always nice...</p>
<p>You people are just playing semantics.</p>
<p>In general ionic>covalent except for network covalent.</p>
<p>Breaking apart NaCl takes more energy than breaking apart water. Certain ionic salts come apart in water due to water's polarity. When thinking about strength, ask yourself which dry material will have a higher temperature before breaking apart?</p>