What kind of intermolecular forces act between a sodium cation and an ammonia molecule? Note: If there is more than one type of intermolecular force that acts, be sure to list them all, with a comma between the name of each force.

Question

Chemistry

Iris Gillespie

11 June, 23:30

What kind of intermolecular forces act between a sodium cation and an ammonia molecule? Note: If there is more than one type of intermolecular force that acts, be sure to list them all, with a comma between the name of each force.

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Answers (1)

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Snyder · Answer 1

Ion-dipole forces

Explanation:

Na⁺ is a cation, that is, an ion with a positive charge.

NH₃ has polar covalent bonds (due to the difference in electronegativity between nitrogen and hydrogen). According to the VESPR theory, it has a trigonal pyramidal shape with a lone pair. As a consequence, it has a net dipole moment and the molecule is polar.

The intermolecular forces between Na⁺ (ion) and NH₃ (dipole) are ion-dipole forces.