Bond enthalpy of diatomic molecules: periodicity

Bond enthalpy of diatomic molecules

Units

kJ mol^-1

The strength of a chemical bond is defined as the standard enthalpy change of the reaction in which the bond M-X is broken to form the two component atoms, M and X. Values given here refer to the bond strengths of the gaseous diatomic species MX.

Notes

I am grateful to Professor J.A. Kerr (University of Birmingham, UK) for the provision of the bond strengths of diatomic molecules data.

The values given here are at 298 K. All values are quoted in kJ mol^-1. Generally, these data were obtained by spectroscopic or mass spectrometric means. You should consult reference 1 for further details. A note of caution: the strength of, say, the C-H bond in the gaseous diatomic species CH (not an isolable species) is not necessarily, the same as the strength of a C-H bond in, say, methane.

The strongest bond for a diatomic species is that of carbon monoxide, CO (1076.5 ± 0.4 kJ mol^-1). The strongest bond for a homonuclear diatomic species is that of dinitrogen, N₂ (945.33 ± 0.59 kJ mol^-1).

Literature sources

1. D.R. Lide, (ed.) in Chemical Rubber Company handbook of chemistry and physics, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, USA, 79th edition, 1998.

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• Periodicity