Question

Write the significance/applications of dipole moment.

Answer 1

Hint: The separation of charges in a system produces dipole moment. Ionic and covalent compounds develop dipole moments. The dipole moment is produced due to the difference in electronegativity of the chemically bonded atoms.

Complete answer:
The separation of positive and negative charges in a compound is known as polar character. The measurement of polar character of a chemical bond is given by the dipole moment. The dipole moment has both magnitude and direction and thus, it is a vector quantity.
The positive charge is indicated by $\delta+ $ and the negative charge is indicated by $\delta-$. These charges are separated by distance ${\text{d}}$ and are equal in magnitude but opposite in direction.
The significance/applications of dipole moment are as follows:
> Dipole moment is useful in finding the polar nature of the chemical bond: As the magnitude of dipole moment increases, the polar nature of the bond increases. Molecules with zero dipole moment are non-polar in nature. Molecules having dipole moments are said to be polar.
> Dipole moment is useful in finding the structure/shape of the molecule: Molecules having dipole moment are bent or angular in shape and have unsymmetrical structure. Molecules having zero dipole moment have symmetrical shape.
> Dipole moment is useful in distinguishing between the cis- and trans- isomers: Isomers having high dipole moment are trans-isomers. Isomers having low dipole moment are cis-isomers.
> Dipole moment is useful in distinguishing between the ortho, meta and para- isomers: The isomer having zero dipole moment is the para-isomer. The isomer having moderate dipole moment is the meta-isomer. The isomer having the highest dipole moment is the ortho-isomer.
> Dipole moment is useful in finding the percent ionic character.

Note: Dipole moment is the product of magnitude of charge and the internuclear distance. The formula to calculate the dipole moment is,
$\mu = Q \times d$
Where $\mu $ is the dipole moment,
Q is the magnitude of the charge,
d is the internuclear distance