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Why was the hydrogen atom able to attach to the oxygen atom but not the chlorine atom???

1 Answer

9 votes

Answer:

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.

User Jens Frandsen
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