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why can't carbon form ionic bonds? explain
  • help please!!!

carbon cant form ionic compounds...because for that it har to either loose 4 electrons or gain 4 electrons (since its valency is 4)...but it cant do either of them... because of the small size of its atom the bonds are very strong and eletrons are strongly held and to remove these electrons a lot of energy would b required...so it cant loose electrons due to energy considerations .... in the second case it cant gain 4 more electrons becouse of the strong forces of repulsion from the already present electrons...

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To get a stable octet by ionic bonding, carbon would have to either lose 4 electrons or gain 4 electrons. Either process would take way too much energy. Well, there might be an exception. Some studies suggest that Al4C3 (aluminium carbide) contains Al3+ and C4- ions. Normally, however, it just wouldn't work.

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bcauz carbon is a covalent compound and covalent compounds does not give rise to ions and theyy are poor conductors of electricity.......

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hi.......

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it can

example Al4C3

contains Al3+ and C4-

but it is exception.

some more exception are calcium carbide (CaC2). There are some organic ionic compounds, such as sodium acetate (NaCH3CO2), in which the formal charge is not on a carbon atom...

 

but normaly  carbon dosen't form  becose To get a stable octet by ionic bonding, carbon would have to either lose 4 electrons or gain 4 electrons. Either process would take way too much energy

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