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Intermolecular forces are forces between molecules or noble gas atoms and can be attractive or repulsive .
Br Br
- +
Br Br
--- +
--
--- +
--
The temporary dipole lasts for a very short time as the electrons are in continuous motion and moving fast.
Temporary dipole (in a non-polar molecule) or permanent dipole (in a polar molecule) can induce polarity in a non
polar molecule by:
- attracting electron cloud in non-polar molecule using its positive end
- repelling electron cloud in non-polar molecule using its negative end
Definition: Van der waals forces are weak electrostatic forces of attraction between temporary dipoles of
non-polar molecules or atoms of a noble gas as a result of uneven distribution of electron cloud in the
molecule or atom.
The strength of the van der Waals forces in between molecules depends on two factors :
Substance
Number of electrons
Boiling point / K
Ne
10
23
Ar
18
87
CH3CH2CH3
26
231
CH3CH2CH2CH3
34
273
C2H6
18
185
C3H8
26
231
C(CH3)4
42
283
(CH3)2CHCH2CH3
42
301
CH3(CH2)3CH3
42
309
All molecules have van der waals forces for the following reasons:
Every molecule has electron cloud.
Every molecule has contact points.
Exercise:
Argon and ethane are isoelectronic. Argon has a boiling point of 87K while ethane has a boiling point of 185K.
(a) What do you understand by the term isoelectronic?
(b) Explain the difference in the boiling points of argon and ethane
(ii)
Definition: Dipole-dipole forces are weak electrostatic forces of attraction between permanent dipoles of polar
molecules.
Exercise:
1. Bromine (Br2) and ICl have 70 electrons each and molar masses of 160 and 162.5 respectively.
(a) What is the name of ICl?
(b) Which of the two substances (Br2 and ICl) has a higher boiling point? Explain.
2. Propanone (CH3COCH3) is a liquid while butane (CH3CH2CH2CH3) is a gas at room temperature. Explain.
(iii)
Hydrogen bonding.
These weak forces of attraction only exist between permanent polar molecules in which a hydrogen
atom is directly attached to fluorine, oxygen or nitrogen e.g. HF, H 2O, NH3 etc.