Compounds containing two elements (so called binary compounds) can eitherhave ionic or covalent bonding.
See Also
Bonding - Bonding - (CCEA) - GCSE Chemistry (Single Science) Revision - CCEA - BBC BitesizeWhat is the order of bonds and interactions from the strongest to the weakest?Covalent, Van der Waals interaction, ionic bond, hydrogen bondChemical Bonds – Principles of BiologyWhich Bond is Stronger Ionic or Covalent?- If a compound is made from a metal and a non-metal, its bonding willbe ionic.
- If a compound is made from two non-metals, its bonding will be covalent.
To decide if a binary compound has ionic or covalent bonding, firstlocate the two elements concerned in the Periodic Table and decide if theyare metals (shown in blue) or non-metals (shown in pink).
If they are both non-metals (such as carbon and oxygen) they will forma covalent compound (such as carbon dioxide, CO2).
If one is a metal (like sodium) and the other a non-metal (like fluorine),they will form an ionic compound (such as sodium fluoride, NaF).
