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I am looking for some opinions concerning the terminology around hydrogen bonds. Other types of bonds can be expressed as an adjective: "The atoms are bonded covalently." or (though less common) "(...) are bonded ionically.". Sometimes the sentence can be made clearer, and its length reduced, by using the adverb form rather than the noun. In the case of hydrogen bonds, I often end up with awkward and longer-than-they-need-to-be formulations, because I feel I need to use the noun form.

However, I have come across the term "(...) are hydrogen-bonded" or "(...) are H-bonded". This is inventing a new verb, and some people do not like (I have gotten feedback on reports). "The two water molecules are bonded hydrogenly" seems odd, and no results are found in Google. So, what do you do?

My own opinion is to use "H-bonded", as I feel this gets the message across without ambiguity in a concise way.

Technetium
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Yoda
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  • Well, problems start because hydrogen bonds are not covalent or ionic bonds. Maybe that was what the report feedbackers were getting at? – Jan Nov 29 '15 at 13:13
  • No, the feedback was about how "H-bonded" was not a real verb, and that the sentence should be reworded to adhere to standard grammar. (Of course, it is hard to argue against that, but I feel that unnecessary complexity is added to the sentence by not accepting the "fake" verb) – Yoda Nov 29 '15 at 13:20
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    "(...) are hydrogen-bonded" or "(...) are H-bonded" I have used this and I have seen lecturers use this (if it lends any credence to what I say, I am at Oxford). In my opinion, this phrasing is perfectly acceptable - it conveys exactly what you are trying to say, but I suppose there will always be purists out there who insist that you write "there is a hydrogen bond between (...) and (...)". – orthocresol Nov 29 '15 at 13:33
  • I agree. I will stick with the "H-bonded" formulation, and argue for it if need be! Thanks. – Yoda Dec 01 '15 at 14:53

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