Hydrogen bonding, an essential chemistry concept, is part of organic chemistry. It majorly deals with the formation of hydrogen bonds. In other words, hydrogen bonding is the process of forming hydrogen bonds that are an attractive intermolecular force’s special class that arises because of the interaction between the hydrogen atom and the highly electronegative atom. For example, in the case of water molecules, chemically represented as (H2O), hydrogen is bonded covalently to the electronegative atom ‘Oxygen’. As a result, hydrogen bonding rises in the water molecules because of the dipole-dipole interactions among oxygen atoms and hydrogen atoms. 

Here we will read about the effects of hydrogen bonding on element importance. But before that, let’s learn about hydrogen bonding and elements. 

Explain Hydrogen Bonding 

Hydrogen bonding mainly occurs between an electronegative and a hydrogen atom. Some of the common electronegative atoms are fluorine, chlorine, and oxygen. The hydrogen bond is generally weaker than the covalent or ionic bond. However, it is stronger than the van der Waals forces. According to experts, hydrogen bonds are a type of weak chemical bond. Further, these are classified into two major parts including – 

Intermolecular Hydrogen Bonding, where the hydrogen bonding occurs between different molecules with the same or different compounds, is referred to as intermolecular hydrogen bonding. Common examples of intermolecular hydrogen bonding include hydrogen bonding in alcohol, water, ammonia, etc. 

Intramolecular Hydrogen Bonding, where the hydrogen bonding mainly occurs within the molecule only. This type of hydrogen bonding takes place in compounds that have two groups. Out of the two groups, one group has a hydrogen atom, whereas another group has a highly electronegative atom. 

What are Elements? 

First, we need to know where the term element came from. Robert Boyle first used the term element in 1661, and Antoine Laurent Lavoisier was the first to define the element in a useful definition. According to Antoine, “An Element is a basic form of matter which cannot be broken down into simpler form by chemical reaction.”

Types of Elements

Elements can be categorised into three types:

Metals: They can be defined as substances characterised by high thermal and electrical conductivity and malleability, ductility, and high reflectivity of light. Some examples of metals are gold, iron, aluminium, etc. Mercury also comes under metals, but it is the only metal in liquid form at room temperature.

Non-metals: They can be defined as elements with low strength, low density, and poor conductors of electricity and heat. They tend to form acidic compounds. They are available in various colours compared to the metals, which are only yellow-silver colours. Some examples of non-metals are iodine, oxygen, hydrogen, etc.

Metalloids: They are elements with intermediate properties between typical metal and non-metal. Some of the examples of metalloids are boron, germanium, antimony, etc. 

Elements are organised according to the atomic number in the periodic table, grouped based on similar properties.

Effects of Hydrogen Bonding on Elements

The following are the effects of hydrogen bonding on elements. 

Association 

Because of the hydrogen bonding, the carboxylic acid’s molecules are presently available as a dimer. These compounds’ molecular masses are nearly double compared to that calculated using the simple formula. 

Dissociation 

When in the aqueous solution, the HF produces the difluoride ion rather than the fluoride ion. This happens because of the hydrogen bonding in the HF. The molecules such as HCl, HBr, HI do not form the hydrogen bond, which clearly states the non-existence of compounds such as KHCl2, KHBr2, KHI2.

Examples of Hydrogen Bonding 

Here are a few examples of hydrogen bonding – 

• Water: The highly electronegative oxygen atom gets connected with the hydrogen atom in a water molecule. The electron’s shared pairs are closely attracted to the oxygen atoms, so the molecule’s end becomes negative, whereas the hydrogen atoms appear to be positive. 
• Hydrogen fluoride: Fluorine forms the strongest hydrogen bond featuring the highest electronegativity in hydrogen bonding.
• Hydrogen bonding in carboxylic acid and alcohols: Alcohol is referred to as an organic molecule with an -OH group. Generally, in case any molecule that has a hydrogen atom is either linked to nitrogen or oxygen directly. Later, hydrogen bonding becomes easier. 
• Hydrogen bonding in the ammonia: It has electronegative atom nitrogen connected to hydrogen atoms. 
• Hydrogen bonding in the polymer: Hydrogen bonding is crucial in determining 3D structures and properties acquired by natural and synthetic proteins. It also played a significant role in defining the cellulose structure and derived polymers, including flax or cotton. 

Conclusion 

Hydrogen bonding is one of the most important topics that mainly deals with the development of hydrogen bonds. An attractive intermolecular force’s special class arises because of the dipole-dipole interaction across the hydrogen atom and highly electronegative atom. Here, we majorly discussed elements and effects of hydrogen bonding in elements. Mainly, there are two effects, including association and dissociation.