Ionic Bond | Definition, Properties, Examples, & Facts - Britannica

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External Websites

• UEN Digital Press with Pressbooks - The Ionic Bond
• Atlantic Canada Pressbooks Network - Introductory Chemistry – 1st Canadian / NSCC Edition - Electron Transfer: Ionic Bonds
• OpenStax - Chemistry 2e - Ionic Bonding
• Western Oregon University - Chemistry - Ionic and Covalent Bonding
• National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Mechanochemistry and the Evolution of Ionic Bonds in Dense Silver Iodide
• Chemistry LibreTexts - Ionic Bonding
• University of Central Florida Pressbooks - Chemistry Fundamentals - Strengths of Ionic and Covalent Bonds
• ACS Publication - Directional Ionic Bonds

ionic bond chemistry Ask Anything Homework Help Also known as: electrovalency, electrovalent bond, heteropolar bond, polar bond(Show More) Written and fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors Last updated Jan. 13, 2026 •History Britannica AI Ask Anything Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask Anything

ionic bond, type of linkage formed from the electrostatic attraction between oppositely charged ions in a chemical compound. Such a bond forms when the valence (outermost) electrons of one atom are transferred permanently to another atom. The atom that loses the electrons becomes a positively charged ion (cation), while the one that gains them becomes a negatively charged ion (anion). A brief treatment of ionic bonds follows. For full treatment, see chemical bonding: The formation of ionic bonds.

Ionic bonding results in compounds known as ionic, or electrovalent, compounds, which are best exemplified by the compounds formed between nonmetals and the alkali and alkaline-earth metals. In ionic crystalline solids of this kind, the electrostatic forces of attraction between opposite charges and repulsion between similar charges orient the ions in such a manner that every positive ion becomes surrounded by negative ions and vice versa. In short, the ions are so arranged that the positive and negative charges alternate and balance one another, the overall charge of the entire substance being zero. The magnitude of the electrostatic forces in ionic crystals is considerable. Accordingly, these substances tend to be hard and nonvolatile.

Also called: electrovalent bond (Show more) Related Topics: ionic compound ion pair ion ionic crystal bond (Show more) See all related content

An ionic bond is actually the extreme case of a polar covalent bond, the latter resulting from unequal sharing of electrons rather than complete electron transfer. Ionic bonds typically form when the difference in the electronegativities of the two atoms is great, while covalent bonds form when the electronegativities are similar. Compare covalent bond.

More From Britannica crystal: Ionic bonds The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Augustyn.