MadSci Network: Chemistry |
The answer is, both ionic and covalent. There is no (or not much) covalent interaction between ammonium ion and chloride ion in the solid state; the ions are arranged in a so-called "cesium chloride" structure, which is common for 1-to-1 ratios of large cations and smaller anions. However, bonding between nitrogen and the four hydrogens within the ammonium ion itself is covalent. There is a somewhat less common way of representing ammonium chloride, NH3.HCl. This shows two things:
Dan Berger |
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