Related topics: water molecules

Why Does Water Expand When it Cools? A New Explanation

(PhysOrg.com) -- Most of us, when we take our first science classes, learn that when things cool down, they shrink. (When they heat up, we learn, they usually expand.) However, water seems to be the exception to the rule. ...

Researchers find a way to harness the entire spectrum of sunlight

Scientists for the first time have developed a single molecule that can absorb sunlight efficiently and also act as a catalyst to transform solar energy into hydrogen, a clean alternative to fuel for things like gas-powered ...

Hydrogen bonds directly detected for the first time

For the first time, scientists have succeeded in studying the strength of hydrogen bonds in a single molecule using an atomic force microscope. Researchers from the University of Basel's Swiss Nanoscience Institute network ...

Possible organic compounds found in Mars crater rocks

A study published in Science analyses multiple rocks found at the bottom of Jezero Crater on Mars, where the Perseverance rover landed in 2020, revealing significant interaction between the rocks and liquid water. Those rocks ...

Chemical engineers borrow technique to store solar energy

(Phys.org) —Chemical engineers at Stanford have designed a catalyst that could help produce vast quantities of pure hydrogen through electrolysis – the process of passing electricity through water to break hydrogen loose ...

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Hydrogen bond

A hydrogen bond is the attractive interaction of a hydrogen atom with an electronegative atom, like nitrogen, oxygen or fluorine (thus the name "hydrogen bond", which must not be confused with a covalent bond to hydrogen). The hydrogen is covalently bonded to another electronegative atom. The energy of a hydrogen bond (typically 5 to 30 kJ/mole) is comparable to that of weak covalent bonds (155 kJ/mol), and a typical covalent bond is only 20 times stronger than an intermolecular hydrogen bond. These bonds can occur between molecules (intermolecularly), or within different parts of a single molecule (intramolecularly). The hydrogen bond is stronger than a van der Waals interaction, but weaker than covalent, or ionic bonds. This type of bond occurs in both inorganic molecules such as water and organic molecules such as DNA.

Intermolecular hydrogen bonding is responsible for the high boiling point of water (100 °C). This is because of the strong hydrogen bond, as opposed to other group 16 hydrides. Intramolecular hydrogen bonding is partly responsible for the secondary, tertiary, and quaternary structures of proteins and nucleic acids.

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