What is covalent bonding?

Covalent bonding is defined as the sharing of electrons between two or more nonmetal atoms. This type of bond allows each atom to achieve a stable electron configuration, often resembling the electron configuration of noble gases. In a covalent bond, the atoms come closer together and overlap their atomic orbitals, resulting in the formation of a molecule.

For example, in a water molecule (H2O), each hydrogen atom shares one electron with the oxygen atom. This shared electron pair allows all participating atoms to attain more stability than they would have as isolated atoms. The interaction involved in covalent bonding can create a variety of compounds with unique properties depending on the elements involved and the number of shared electron pairs.

Understanding covalent bonds is critical in many areas of chemistry, as they are fundamental to the structure of organic compounds, biological molecules, and various materials that we encounter in everyday life.