Electron transfer is the complete movement of one or more electrons from one atom to another, producing ions; it is the process behind ionic bonding.
Electron transfer is the complete movement of one or more electrons from one atom to another, producing ions. It is the process behind ionic bonding. Malay: pemindahan elektron · Chinese: 电子转移.
Electron transfer is what happens when a metal reacts with a non-metal. The metal atom gives its outer electrons away completely, so it is left with a full inner shell and becomes a positive cation. The non-metal atom accepts those electrons, completing its own outer shell and becoming a negative anion. The number of electrons the metal loses equals the number the non-metal gains, and both atoms end up with the stable arrangement of a noble gas. The transfer must be complete, the electrons fully leave one atom and belong to the other, which is exactly what distinguishes ionic bonding from covalent bonding.
Example. In the formation of magnesium oxide, each magnesium atom (2.8.2) transfers its two outer electrons to an oxygen atom (2.6). Magnesium becomes Mg2+ (2.8) and oxygen becomes O2− (2.8), and the two ions are held by an ionic bond. When magnesium reacts with chlorine, its two electrons go to two separate chlorine atoms, giving Mg2+ and two Cl− ions.
Confusion to avoid. Do not describe covalent bonding as electron transfer. In covalent bonding electrons are shared, not transferred, and no ions form. Take care to balance the electrons transferred: the total lost by the metal must equal the total gained by the non-metals, which fixes the formula.
Electron transfer is the first step in building every ionic compound in this chapter, and describing it clearly, with the correct ions, is a common structured-question task in SPM Chemistry.
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