How does an ionic bond form between zinc and oxygen?
Zn has two electrons in its outside shell and wants to lose those two. Oxygen has six electrons in its outside shell and wants eight; therefore, oxygen takes the two electrons form Zn making the Zn with a +2 charge and oxygen now has a -2 charge.
This creates an electrostatic attraction between the two atoms, forming an ionic bond.
The formation of an ionic bond between zinc (Zn) and oxygen (O) involves the transfer of electrons from Zn to O.
Step 1: Zn has two electrons in its outer shell and wants to lose these electrons to achieve a stable electron configuration.
Step 2: Oxygen has six electrons in its outer shell and wants to gain two more electrons to achieve a stable electron configuration.
Step 3: In order to fulfill both elements' electron configuration, the oxygen atom accepts the two electrons from the zinc atom.
Step 4: As a result, the zinc atom loses two electrons, becoming a positively charged ion (Zn2+), while the oxygen atom gains two electrons, becoming a negatively charged ion (O2-).
Step 5: The positively charged zinc ion and negatively charged oxygen ion are attracted to each other due to their opposite charges and form an ionic bond.
Step 6: The ionic bond between zinc and oxygen is a strong electrostatic attraction between the positively charged Zn2+ ion and the negatively charged O2- ion.
To understand how an ionic bond forms between zinc (Zn) and oxygen (O), we need to look at the electron configuration and the concept of valence electrons.
Zinc has an atomic number of 30, meaning it has 30 protons and 30 electrons. The electron configuration of zinc is [Ar] 3d10 4s2, which means it has two electrons in its outermost shell (4s orbital).
On the other hand, oxygen has an atomic number of 8, so it has 8 protons and 8 electrons. The electron configuration of oxygen is 1s2 2s2 2p4, meaning it has six electrons in its outermost shell (2s and 2p orbitals).
To achieve stability, atoms tend to either gain, lose, or share electrons to fill their outermost shell with the desired number of electrons. This is known as the octet rule, where atoms seek to have eight electrons in their outer shell (except for hydrogen and helium, which only need two electrons).
In the case of zinc, it wants to lose its two electrons from the 4s orbital to achieve stability. This results in a positive charge because it now has more protons than electrons. So it becomes Zn2+.
Oxygen, on the other hand, wants to gain two electrons to fill its outer shell and achieve stability. This results in a negative charge because it now has more electrons than protons. So it becomes O2-.
Now, with zinc having a positive charge and oxygen having a negative charge, they are attracted to each other due to their opposite charges. This electrostatic attraction between the positively charged Zn2+ ion and the negatively charged O2- ion creates an ionic bond.
In summary, an ionic bond forms between zinc and oxygen because zinc wants to lose two electrons, which are gained by oxygen to fill its outer shell. The resulting positive and negative charges attract each other, forming an ionic bond between Zn2+ and O2-.