Intramolecular Forces vs. Intermolecular Forces
Intramolecular forces
- Intramolecular forces are forces within a molecule and are usually covalent bonds
- Covalent bonds are formed when the outer electrons of two atoms are shared
- Single, double, triple and co-ordinate bonds are all types of intramolecular forces
Intermolecular forces
- Molecules also contain weaker intermolecular forces which are forces between the molecules
- There are three types of intermolecular forces:
- Induced dipole – dipole forces also called van der Waals or London dispersion forces
- Permanent dipole – dipole forces are the attractive forces between two neighbouring molecules with a permanent dipole
- Hydrogen Bonding are a special type of permanent dipole - permanent dipole forces
- Intramolecular forces are stronger than intermolecular forces
- For example, a hydrogen bond is about one tenth the strength of a covalent bond
- The strengths of the types of bond or force are as follows:
The varying strengths of different types of bonds