What type of bond is formed through the attraction between oppositely charged ions?

The bond formed through the attraction between oppositely charged ions is known as an ionic bond. This type of bond occurs when one atom transfers electrons to another atom, resulting in the formation of positively charged cations and negatively charged anions. The electrostatic forces between these charged ions hold them together in a compound, creating a stable ionic structure.

Ionic bonds are typically formed between metals and nonmetals, where metals tend to lose electrons and nonmetals tend to gain them. For example, sodium (a metal) can lose an electron to become a positively charged sodium ion, while chlorine (a nonmetal) gains that electron to become a negatively charged chloride ion. The attraction between these oppositely charged ions is what constitutes the ionic bond.

In contrast, covalent bonds involve the sharing of electrons between atoms rather than transferring them, metallic bonds are characterized by a ‘sea of electrons’ among metal atoms, and hydrogen bonds are weaker interactions that occur between a hydrogen atom bonded to a highly electronegative atom and another electronegative atom. Consequently, these differ fundamentally from the nature of how ionic bonds are formed.