How do you classify hydrides?

Answer 1

There are three types of hydride: saline, metallic and covalent (there are alternative names for the types of hydride, but these are most common).

Saline hydrides have crystalline, salt like structures, and are formed with hydrogen and the group 1 and group 2 metals (the alkali metals and the alkaline earth metals).

Metallic hydrides are brittle solids with fairly simple structures, generally formed between hydrogen and the transition metals. They can often have non-integer stoichiometries, e.g. ZrH1.3.

Covalent hydrides are formed between hydrogen and the p-block elements, and tend to be gases as room temperature (there are exceptions to this, because of hydrogen bonding).

Answer 2

Hydrides can be classified based on their ionic or covalent nature, with ionic hydrides containing hydride ions (H-) and covalent hydrides formed through sharing of electrons. Hydrides can also be categorized as interstitial or bonded hydrides based on their structure and bonding characteristics. Additionally, hydrides can be classified as metallic, non-metallic, or interstitial hydrides based on the nature of the element involved in hydride formation.