Explain hydrogen bonding in water?
Answers
Answer:
"The electrostatic attraction between the partial positive charge between the hydrogen atoms and the partial negative charge close to the oxygen allows a hydrogen bond to form.
Polarity is responsible for the tendency of ions and other molecules to dissolve in water. The hydrogen bonds are responsible for many other peculiar properties of water. Ice floats, for example, since hydrogen bonds pull water molecules farther apart in a solid than in a liquid, where there is one fewer hydrogen bond per molecule.
Hydrogen bonding is also due to the unique physical properties, including high vaporization energy, low surface tension, high specific heat, and almost universal liquid solvent properties. Another unique property of water caused by hydrogen bonds is the hydrophobic effect or exclusion of compounds containing carbon and hydrogen. In the formation of cell membranes, the hydrophobic effect is particularly important. The best description is to say that water is ‘squeezing’ together non-polar molecules."
Hydrogen bonding forms in liquid water as the hydrogen atoms of one water molecule are attracted towards the oxygen atom of a neighboring water molecule. In a water molecule (H2O), the oxygen nucleus with +8 charges attracts electrons better than the hydrogen nucleus with its +1 charge. Hence, the oxygen atom is partially negatively charged and the hydrogen atom is partially positively charged. The hydrogen atoms are not only covalently attached to their oxygen atoms but also attracted towards other nearby oxygen atoms. This attraction is the basis of the 'hydrogen' bonds.