HYDROGEN BONDING IN WATER
Hydrogen bonding forms in liquid water when a hydrogen atom is attracted to a neighboring oxygen atom. Ordinary molecules that look similar to water would normally arrange themselves in a tetrahedral geometry with an angle of 109.5(Lower & Emeritus, 2017).
However, water has two pairs of unpaired electrons so the angle now becomes 104.5. Usually, water is neutral but due to its unequal distribution of charges, it causes the molecule to have a dipole movement (Lower & Emeritus, 2017). Opposite charges attract each other so it wouldn’t surprise anyone if a water molecule would attract another water molecule. In a liquid state, molecules of water break and reform bonds quickly, giving it the ability to slip past each other (Shapely, 2011).
Hydrogen bonds are much stronger than any other intermolecular forces, this means that more energy is required to break these bonds. Due to the strength of the bond, water has some interesting properties. One of the most notable property is its high boiling point. Water has a boiling point of 100 degree celcius, which is higher than many other liquids. In comparison to other liquids, water also has a higher surface tension because of its hydrogen bond. Water is also a universal solvent because of its ability to dissolve many particles (Yee & Rozzi, 2017).
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