The strong attraction of each shared electron to both nuclei stabilizes the system, and the potential energy decreases as the bond distance decreases. If the atoms continue to approach each other, the positive charges in the two nuclei begin to repel each other, and the potential energy increases.

A high bond order indicates more attraction between electrons. A higher bond order also means that the atoms are held together more tightly. Bond order also indicates the stability of the bond. The higher the bond order, the more electrons holding the atoms together, and therefore the greater the stability.

What happens when the two atoms are TOO close? What happens to the stability of atoms when they form covalent bonds? the atoms are more stable when they are bonded together than when they are apart. Can every atom form single, double, and triple bonds?

Atoms form chemical bonds to make their outer electron shells more stable. An ionic bond, where one atom essentially donates an electron to another, forms when one atom becomes stable by losing its outer electrons and the other atoms become stable (usually by filling its valence shell) by gaining the electrons.

Many atoms become stable when their valence shell is filled with electrons or when they satisfy the octet rule (by having eight valence electrons). If atoms don’t have this arrangement, they’ll want to reach it by gaining, losing, or sharing electrons via bonds.

More Than an Octet of Electrons. The most common exception to the octet rule is a molecule or an ion with at least one atom that possesses more than an octet of electrons. The octet rule is based on the fact that each valence orbital (typically, one ns and three np orbitals) can accommodate only two electrons.

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Ionic bond

A hydrogen bond is not stronger than a covalent bond. Intramolecular bonds such as covalent bonds are always stronger than intermolecular bonds.