The dipole moment of is experimentally found to be , and the interatomic spacing is . Calculate the — Chemical Bonding Chemistry Question
Question
The dipole moment of $HBr$ is experimentally found to be $2.60 \times 10^{-30}\text{ C m}$, and the interatomic spacing is $1.41\text{ \AA}$. Calculate the percentage ionic character of the $H-Br$ bond and round off your answer to the nearest integer. (Charge of electron $e = 1.6 \times 10^{-19}\text{ C}$)
💡 Solution & Explanation
Theoretical $100\%$ ionic dipole moment $\mu_{cal} = q \times d = (1.6 \times 10^{-19}\text{ C}) \times (1.41 \times 10^{-10}\text{ m}) = 2.256 \times 10^{-29}\text{ C m}$. Percentage ionic character = $(\mu_{obs} / \mu_{cal}) \times 100 = (2.60 \times 10^{-30} / 22.56 \times 10^{-30}) \times 100 = 11.52\%$. Rounding to the nearest integer gives 12.