Chemistry · Chemical Bonding
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Which one of the following has highest ionic character?
- A
AlCl₃
- B
BCl₃
- C
PCl₃
- D
NaH
NaH (sodium hydride) has the highest ionic character because it consists of sodium, a highly electropositive metal, and hydrogen, which has a relatively high electronegativity compared to other elements in the options. The large difference in electronegativity leads to strong ionic bonding. In contrast, AlCl₃, BCl₃, and PCl₃ are predominantly covalent compounds. Although AlCl₃ has some ionic character due to aluminum's ability to form ionic bonds, it does not compare to the strong ionic nature of NaH. BCl₃ and PCl₃ are primarily covalent due to the similar electronegativities of boron and phosphorus with chlorine, resulting in weaker ionic character.
AlCl₃ is a covalent compound with some ionic character due to the presence of aluminum and chlorine. However, the ionic character is not the highest among the given options.
BCl₃ is primarily covalent in nature and has low ionic character because boron and chlorine have similar electronegativities.
PCl₃ also exhibits covalent bonding and has low ionic character, as phosphorus and chlorine have comparable electronegativities.
NaH is an ionic compound with a significant difference in electronegativity between sodium and hydrogen, resulting in the highest ionic character among the options.
Tagged under Chemistry · Chemical Bonding · 2025