Why doesn't chlorine form hydrogen bonds even though it is more electronegative than nitrogen?

Chlorine has a higher electronegativity, but as it has a large atomic radius the electron density is spread out over a large area. This means that the electron density is too low to form proper hydrogen bonds, and will only be attracted via dipole-dipole attraction.

CL

Related Chemistry A Level answers

All answers ▸

What is orbital hybridisation and its relevance?


Why does the nucleophilic addition of a cyanide ion to an aldehyde form a racemic mixture?


why increasing the temperature will increase the rate of reaction


Explain how the electron pair repulsion theory can be used to deduce the shape of, and the bond angle in, PF3