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In my textbook, it is written that 'Even in case of covalent bond between two Hydrogen atoms there is some ionic character.' Didn't get that.

MrObjectOriented
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  • Sounds like nonsense to me. I mean, they may have had in mind things like polarizability, induced dipoles... but still, this just sounds ugly. If H-H is not a 100% covalent bond, then what is? – Ivan Neretin Feb 24 '16 at 10:06
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    What the book means is that the canonical forms $\ce{H-H <-> H^{-} ... H^{+} <-> H^{+} ... H^{-}}$ all contribute to the true picture of bonding in $\ce{H2}$, even if we often imagine the bond as purely covalent. This is true. It is possible to prove that calculations which ignore the ionic resonance structures result in a worse approximation of experimental energy levels. One of the computational/theoretical chemistry users around here can probably give a great answer regarding this. – Nicolau Saker Neto Feb 24 '16 at 10:11
  • Resonance like thing in H2 molecule? – MrObjectOriented Feb 24 '16 at 11:23
  • Hmm I think you are right. So is this London Forces? – MrObjectOriented Feb 24 '16 at 13:35

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