Intermolecula Forces Essay

Discussion: Intermolecular Forces

Intermolecular forces (IMF) played a huge part in the lab. Intermolecular forces are forces between molecules that hold molecules to each other. Don’t get them confused with intramolecular forces, which are forces within a molecule that hold atoms together. Intermolecular forces can also be called van der Waals forces. There are three different types of IMF. Those three types are dipole-dipole forces, dispersion forces, and hydrogen bonding. Dipole-dipole forces are electrostatic attractions between two dipoles. Dispersion forces are electrostatic attractions between two momentary dipoles. Dispersion forces occur in nonpolar molecules. Hydrogen bonds are very unique. Hydrogen bonds are a very strong form of a dipole-dipole force. Although bond is in the name, it is not a bond. It is named due to the fact that a hydrogen atom has bonded to one of three elements, nitrogen, oxygen, and fluorine, in that compound. Dipole-dipole forces are a very important form of IMF. For dipole-dipole forces to occur there has to be two permanent dipoles. Dipoles are molecules containing polar covalent bonds. Sometimes dipoles attract molecules that weren’t originally dipoles. When a dipole approaches a nonpolar molecule, the partial charges either attract or repel the electrons of the other particle. The electron cloud of the nonpolar molecule gets distorted be bulging away from the approaching dipole. This transforms the nonpolar molecule into a dipole. This new dipole is called an induce dipole. Now that the molecule has become a dipole, it has the ability to attract to a permanent dipole. These interactions are called dipole-induced dipole forces, which is still a type of dipole-dipole force, but more unique. Dispersion forces or London forces are another type of IMF which are very significant. Of the factors