Answer: In an ionic bond, one atom donates an electron to another atom. This stabilizes both atoms. Because one atom essentially gains an electron and the other loses it, an ionic bond is polar. In other words, one atom in the bond has a positive charge, while the other has a negative charge. Often, these atoms dissociate into their ions in water. Atoms that participate in ionic bonding have different electronegativity values from each other. If you look at a table of electronegativity values, it is apparent ionic bonding occurs between metals and nonmetals. Examples of compounds with ionic bonds include salt, such as table salt (NaCl).