Single Bond, Double Bond and Triple Bond

Covalent bonding is seen when atoms share pairs with electrons. Atoms will covalently bond with other atoms to gain greater stability, which is gained through forming a full shell of electrons. Through exchanging most (valence) electrons out there, atoms will fill up their outer shell of electrons and gain stability.

The octet rule explains that atoms of main-group elements seem to bind, So that all of the atoms have eight electrons in their valence shells, and attain the same noble gas electronic configuration.

In covalent bonds, the atoms tend to share their electrons, so the atoms involved in covalent bonding follow the Octet law and attain the noble gas configuration.

Explaining the formation of covalent bond is explained with an example:

If there are two chlorine atoms, with seven valence electrons each for chlorine. Thus, each of these chlorine atoms only needs one more electron to complete the valency of its outer shell. These atoms bind together by sharing two electrons and forming one bond. 

The negative electrons are driven into each atom's positively charged nucleus, thereby holding the atoms together.

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Based on the number of pairs of electrons shared between atoms, there are three types of bond. They are:

• Single Bond

• Double Bond

• Triple Bond

What is a Single Bond? 

A single bond is formed when one pair of electrons are shared between two atoms. 

This bond type is relatively weak and has a smaller electron density than a double bond and a triple bond, but is the most stable because it has a lower reactivity level. It means that the loss of electrons to atoms is less susceptible.

Single bond symbol: A single line represents a bond between two atoms (i.e., involving one electron pair)

Single bond example: Cl2, HCl, NH3 etc.

What is a Double Bond?

A Double bond is formed by the two atoms sharing two pairs of electrons. 

This type of bond is stronger than a single bond but less stable because of its greater reactivity than a single bond.

Double bond symbol: double lines (=) represents a double bond between two atoms (i.e., involving two electron pairs)

Double bond example:  O2, CO2 etc.

What is a Triple Bond?

A Triple Bond is formed when a molecule shares three pairs of electrons between two atoms. It is the least stable of the three general types of covalent bonds, because losing an electron is very vulnerable.

Triple bond symbols: triple lines (≡) indicates a triple bond

Triple bond example: N2, C2H2 etc

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Key Points:

When pairs of electrons are shared between the atoms it results in the formation of covalent bonds. The octet rule explains that atoms of main-group elements seem to bind So that all of the atoms have eight electrons in their valence shells, and attain the same noble gas electronic configuration. If one pair of electrons are shared between atoms, then a single bond is formed.it is represented by a single line. If two pairs of electrons are shared between atoms, then the double bond is formed and represented by two parallel lines. When three pairs of electrons are shared between two atoms then a triple bond is formed.

Difference between Single, Double and Triple Bond

Chemical bonds are forces established between the electrons and nuclei of two atoms that hold atoms in a molecule together. Chemical reactions are controlled by the formation or dissolution of chemical bonds. There are many different types of bonds, including covalent, ionic, and van der Waals bonds. Bond characteristics vary depending on a variety of factors such as molecular nature, solid type (crystalline or amorphous), and so on. Two or more electrons are shared to form covalent bonds. The number of bonds, whether single, double, or triple, is determined by the number of shared electrons between atoms. The covalent bonds comprise single, double, and triple bonds in it. The number of shared electrons is the major distinction between single double and triple bonds. A single bond is formed when two atoms share one pair of electrons, whereas a double bond is formed when two atoms share two pairs (four electrons). Three pairs of electrons (six atoms) are shared to form triple bonds. Valence electrons are the electrons that share a pair of electrons.

Bond Order in Single, Double and Triple Bond

Single, double and triple bonds can also be classified with a term known as bond order. Bond order can be defined as the number of electron bonding pairs present between two atoms. A single bond has a bond order of one, a double bond has a bond order of two, and similarly triple bond has a bond order of three, and this is carried on in a covalent link between two atoms. Following methods can be followed to discover the bond order between two covalently bound atoms:

Determining the sort of atom-to-atom link between the two atoms.

0: zero bond or there is no bond.

1: Only one bond present

2: only double bond present

3: triple bond

At first, as we can see the molecule cannot be formed if the bond order is zero. Also higher the bond order is it suggests that the new molecule will be more stable and strong. The bond order present in the molecules with resonance bonding does not have to be an integer.

A high bond order also means that the electrons are attracted more to each other. It can also be said that the higher the bond order is, the more securely are the atoms bound together. Because there is less attraction between electrons when the bond order is lower, the atoms are held together more loosely. Bond order also shows the bond's stability. The more electrons bind the atoms together, the higher the bond order, and thus the stronger the stability.