Question

what kind of intermolec forces are in NH4Cl

i thought it was london dispersion, dipole dipole, and hydrogen bonding

and nottttt ionic.

what am i doing wrong?

Answer 1

The bond between NH4+ and Cl- is ionic.

That is the bond that breaks in solution, when the compound forms two ions.

The bonds between N and H are probably covalent, and do not break easily.

Answer 2

DrWLS is correct. While you have H-N bonds, per se, they are not, by definition, hydrogen bonds. You do have attraction between the NH4^+ and the Cl^- ions in solution. The NH4^+ is not a dipole and it has no dipole moment although each of the N-H bonds are polar. That isn't a contradiction because to have a net dipole moment the ion/molecule must have polar bonds (which NH4^+ has) AND not be symmetrical (in space that is). The NH4^+ is symmetrical so each of the N-H bond's polarity cancels and there is no NET dipole for the ion.

Answer 3

"Hydrogen bonds, as I understand them, are weak attractive forces between hydrogen atomsin adjacent molecules of a liquid." Not between hydrogen atoms, but between a hydrogen atom and an electronegative atom such as O, N or F.

see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_bond

Answer 4

so you mean H-N is not a hydrogen bond?

and it is an ionic

so the list would be

Dispersion
H bond
dipole dipole?

Answer 5

Hydrogen bonds, as I understand them, are weak attractive forces between hydrogen atomsin adjacent molecules of a liquid. Dipole-dipole bonds are also weak attractive forces between molecules that occasionally stick together. I have nothing else to add to my previous answer.

Answer 6

Thank you for the clarification. They are relatively weak bonds between hydrogen and another atom in a different molecule. I was confused because I had heard about the hydrogen bond between water molecules. Such bonds do not occur within NH4Cl molecules

Answer 7

And I didn't pay attention to ALL that Bill wrote; I just read to the H atom part and stopped reading. Thanks to Dr Russ for setting it right.