Partial charges
Partial charges
Noninteger charge regions caused by uneven electron density in a covalent bond or molecule, commonly labeled δ⁺ and δ⁻. They are distinct from formal charge and oxidation state, which are electron-bookkeeping assignments.
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Partial charge
A partial charge describes an uneven distribution of electron density within a bond or molecule. It is marked by a delta symbol and does not necessarily represent a full ionic charge. For example, oxygen carries a partial negative charge in water while its hydrogens carry partial positive charges.
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Covalent bond
A covalent bond involves shared electron density between atoms. The sharing can be approximately equal or unequal depending on the atoms and their environment. For example, the bond in a hydrogen molecule shares electrons between two identical atoms.