Covalent bond
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Covalent bonds are the chemical bonds between two non-metals, for example between H and O in water (H2O). As they are both non-metals—which need to gain electrons—they have to share, so their outer shells cross over in order to have a full outer shell. A full outer shell has eight electrons.
With water the oxygen atom shares one electron with each hydrogen atom and the hydrogens also share one: this means that the hydrogen atoms have two each and the oxygen atom has 8.
Covalent bonds are generally weaker than ionic bonds, and have a lower melting point in comparison. They are also considered poor conductors of electricity.
