How does covalent bond hold hydrogen and chlorine together?

Answer 1

There are unpaired elecrons in the outer shells of all atoms ( except the nobel gases ). When two atoms come together the electrons on the outer shells are electrostatically attracted to the positive nucleus of the neighboring atom ( due to the presence of protons ), but are also attracted to the nucleus of the atom which it is part of. As a result the atoms come together and share a pair of electons which gives both atoms a full outer shell each and the shared electons are held in place by the electrostatic attractions between the protons in the nucleus and the negative electrons.

H - (ee) - H .... (ee) being the shared electrons.

I used Hydrogen because it only has one shell with one electron in each atom. Any other molecule would be too complicated to draw using a keyboard.

Sorry if thats a bit confusing.

Source(s):Higher Chemistry

Answer 2

A covalent bond holds hydrogen and chlorine together by sharing a pair of electrons between the two atoms. In the case of hydrogen chloride, the chlorine atom is more electronegative than hydrogen, so it attracts the shared electrons more strongly, creating a polar covalent bond. This sharing of electrons creates a stable molecule with both atoms achieving a full outer electron shell.