What is a dative covalent bond?

A dative covalent bond, or coordinate bond, is a bond where there is 1 pair of shared electrons between two atoms. The difference relative to a covalent bond is that in a dative covalent bond these electrons both come from one atom.
An example of this is the ammonium ion, NH4+. One of the single bonds between the nitrogen and hydrogen will be a dative covalent bond.
Dative covalent bonds have the exact same orbital shapes and repulsion as normal covalent bonds. Ammonium, like methane, would therefore have a tetrahedral shape with bond angles of ~109.5°.
Dative covalent bonds are represented on drawings as an arrow, with it pointing towards the atom/ion that isn't donating any electrons to the dative covalent bond.

Answered by Angela N. Chemistry tutor

4648 Views

See similar Chemistry A Level tutors

Related Chemistry A Level answers

All answers ▸

Why does the first ionisation energy of atoms generally increase across a period?


In the presence of ultraviolet radiation, cyclohexane reacts with bromine. A mixture of cyclic products are formed, including C6H11Br. Discuss each step of this reaction providing equations to show the mechanism.


Explain why the product of a nucleophilic addition to butanone does not effect plane polarized light.


How do mass spectrometers measure the mass of a compound?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact usWhatsapp logoMessage us on Whatsapptelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo
Cookie Preferences