Renu S.

A covalent bond is a chemical bond in which pairs of electrons are shared between two atoms. The covalent bond is also called a molecular bond. The forces of attraction or repulsion between two atoms are called Covalent Bonding when they share electron pair or bonding pair. Carbon, having four electrons in its outer shell, has given it the ability to form innumerable molecules and bonds. This is why carbon has so many elements and allotropes.

Covalent carbon compounds are those where there is a carbon-carbon bond. These covalent compounds have stronger bonds than other compounds. It is because carbon is a small atom. Its nucleus has a strong force of attraction and holds these bonds tightly together, so covalent carbon compounds have a strong bond between themselves. Now let us understand why covalent bonding is so relevant for carbon atoms.

As you know, the reactivity of elements is their ability to lose or gain electrons so that their outermost shell has a complete octet (or duplet in the case of hydrogen) to attain noble gas electron configuration. However, carbon has a unique situation. It has four electrons in its outermost shell, so one of the following situations must happen.

Situations

• It can lose the four electrons in its last shell and become a cation, i.e. C4+. However, to lose all four of these electrons would require a large amount of energy, and the resulting atom would be unstable, with six neutrons holding only two electrons in one shell.
• The other option a carbon atom has is to gain four electrons from another atom. But it would be challenging for the resulting carbon atom to be stable. Ten electrons will have to be held by six neutrons in the nucleus.