Carbon and hydrogen have similar electronegativities, resulting in the formation of nonpolar covalent bonds between them in hydrocarbon molecules. In these bonds, electrons are shared fairly equally between the carbon and hydrogen atoms rather than being transferred, which characterizes covalent bonding rather than ionic bonding
. More specifically:
- Carbon has four valence electrons and forms four covalent bonds to complete its octet, while hydrogen has one electron and forms one covalent bond to fill its valence shell with two electrons
- The carbon-hydrogen (C-H) bond is generally considered nonpolar covalent because the difference in electronegativity between carbon and hydrogen is very small (about 0.4), so the electrons are shared almost equally
- These covalent bonds involve the sharing of electron pairs between carbon and hydrogen atoms, resulting in stable hydrocarbon molecules like methane (CH4)
Therefore, the bonds that form between carbon and hydrogen atoms in hydrocarbons are nonpolar covalent bonds.
