Coordination Bonding VS Ionic Bonding (Comparison)

Chemistry is extremely difficult, even the smallest of details that are seemingly minute matter a lot. It is a subject that one will only understand as long as he is completely invested in it, you can’t treat this subject like, English or even Physics. It is quite particular in a sense, chemistry is basically the study of substances like elements and compounds.

Chemistry and physics sometimes have the same topics which is interesting because they both are studies of different aspects. However, physics is much easier to understand, even the simplest questions in chemistry would seem complicated like, what are coordination and ionic bonding?

Well, let me explain this question in the simplest words.

Coordination Bonding: It is a bond that is also called an active covalent bond. This bond is created by sharing a pair of electrons from two atoms. This bond is a reaction of two non-metals coming together.
Ionic Bonding: This bond is also known as an electrovalent bond. This bond is created due to electrostatic attraction, when there is an attraction between the ions that are oppositely charged in a chemical compound an ionic bond is formed. This bond is also formed when the electrons from the valence shell transfer permanently into the other shells.

Have a look at this video for a quick understanding:

If we talk about the differences between these two bonds, we would have to go deep. The main difference between the coordinate bond and an ionic bond is that an Ionic bond is formed when two oppositely charged ions are attracted, in other words when there is an electrostatic attraction between two oppositely charged ions. Coordinate bond is formed when an atom denotes electrons.

Basically, the main difference is that the formation process of these two bonds is utterly different. However, they do have many other differences, here is a list of differences between these two bonds.

Different Aspects	Coordinate Bond	Ionic Bond
Element types	Non-Metallic	Both, Metallic and non-Metallic
Melting Point	Low (mostly below 300 degrees)	High (mostly above 300 degrees)
Electrical Conductivity	Mostly poor	Good Conductor
Physical State	Solid, Liquid, or Gas	Solid
Water Solubility	High to low	Mostly high

A table for the differences between a coordinate bond and an ionic bond

Keep reading to know more.

Page Contents

What are coordinate bonds?

A coordinate bond is also called a covalent bond or dative covalent bond. It is a bond that is created by sharing. When two atoms share a pair of electrons, thereby a coordinated bond is formed. These atoms are attached together because of the attraction of electrons to the nuclei.

In chemistry, even the slightest difference can make a whole another thing. The same thing can have many different names in chemistry that’s why it gets quite confusing for instance, coordinate bonding. This bond is also known as a covalent bond, sometimes, people get confused and think that these are two different bonds.

Here is an example of coordinate covalent bonding.

Hydronium ion (H₃O⁺)

A coordinate covalent bond is formed in a hydronium ion when hydrogen chloride gas dissolves in water to create hydrochloric acid. The process is much easier to understand than it seems, when the nucleus of hydrogen transfers to the water molecule, a coordinate bond is created. Water (H2O) has only one lone pair of electrons to create hydronium, thus H doesn’t take any part by not sharing electrons to the bond.

What is an ionic bond?

Ionic bond also goes by another name which is electrovalent bond. In a chemical compound, an electrostatic attraction is created between two oppositely charged ions, thus a linkage is formed. The bond is created when an electron from a valence shell transfers permanently to another atom.

Ionic bond is considered an extreme case of a polar covalent bond. An ionic bond always results in compounds that are known as electrovalent or ionic compounds.

Here are some examples of Ionic bonds.

KCl – Potassium Chloride
K₂O – Potassium Oxide
K₂Se – Potassium Selenide
Sc₂S – Cesium Sulfide
BeBr₂ – Beryllium Bromide
MgF₂ – Magnesium Fluoride
MgSO₄ – Magnesium Sulfate

Are coordination bonds ionic or covalent?

Ionic and Covalent bonds are both different types of bonds formed by different processes. A coordinate bond is also called a covalent bond, but these bonds aren’t ionic.

Coordinate Bond

A coordinate covalent bond is formed when two atoms share a pair of electrons. In this bond formation atoms are involved, and a direct chemical bond is created between two atoms. In a coordinate bond, the difference is lower than 1.7 in the electronegativity values of the atoms.

Electrovalent Bond

An electrovalent bond is ionic, and it is formed when an electron transfers to another shell permanently. In this bond formation ions are involved and a type of electrostatic attraction is formed between two atoms. In an electrovalent bond, the difference is higher than 1.7 in the electronegativity values of the atoms.

What is the difference between ionic and covalent bonds and hydrogen bonds?

As I said, in chemistry, the slightest difference in a process can create a whole different thing. In chemistry, it is prominent to carefully perform the experiments if you want to avoid repetition. There are three types of bonds that are most mentioned in the books and sometimes seem similar, but they aren’t, let’s dive in and learn about them to avoid any mistakes.

A table for all the differences between covalent bonds and hydrogen bonds

Covalent Bond	Hydrogen Bond
Chemicals bonds are Intermolecular	Chemicals bonds are intermolecular
The formation is between two atoms	The formation is between two different molecules and two different atoms
The strength of bonds varies from 100 to 1100 kJ/mol	The strength of bonds varies from 5 to 50 kJ/mol
Covalent bonds are chemical bonds	Hydrogen bonds are attraction forces
These are formed when two atoms share a pair of electrons	These are formed when attraction forces take place between different molecules and two atoms

Here is a table of differences between ionic bonds and hydrogen bonds.

Ionic Bond	Hydrogen bond
The strength is higher than hydrogen bonds	The strength is lower than ionic bonds
There is an electrostatic attraction in ionic bonds	There are intermolecular interactions in hydrogen bonds
These bonds are harder to breakdown	These are comparatively easy to breakdown
These bonds occur within ionic compounds	Hydrogen bonds occur between and within the molecules

What are examples of coordinate and ionic bonds?

Whenever a definition of a term is difficult, examples always make it easy to understand. There are people who merely learn and understand the examples because that is easier and less time-consuming.

Here are some examples of coordinate and ionic bonds.

Coordinate bonds examples:

Ammonium (NH₄⁺) ion.
Ammonia Boron Trifluoride (NH₃.BF₃).
Aluminum Chloride (Al2Cl6).
Carbon monoxide (CO).

Ionic bonds examples:

Li2O: lithium oxide.
KF: potassium fluoride.
CaCl: calcium chloride.
NaCl: sodium chloride.

To conclude

Coordination Bonding is also called a dative covalent bond. Such a bond is formed by sharing a pair of election from two atoms.
Ionic Bonding is also known as an electrovalent bond. Such a bond is created because of electrostatic attraction when there is an attraction between the ions which are oppositely charged in a chemical compound.

In this coordinate bond formation atoms are a part of it, moreover, a direct chemical bond is created between two atoms. The difference is lower than 1.7 in the electronegativity values of the atoms in coordinate bonds.

An electrovalent bond is ionic, and it is formed when an electron transfers to another shell permanently. This bond forms when ions are involved and a type of electrostatic attraction is produced between two atoms. The difference is higher than 1.7 in the electronegativity values of the atoms.