Difference Between Molecule and Ion (With Table)

The world is a beautiful place. The mountains, the sea, the sky, and all of the things that physically exist; all of these things comprise atoms. They are the universe’s building blocks. However, atoms themselves are not stable, hence, they stabilize themselves by making molecules and ions.

Due to the difference in charges between two ions, electrostatic forces start to operate. Two ions of opposite charge attract each other to form ionic molecules. These molecules are more stable than covalently bonded molecules. Some examples of molecules are H2, O2, H2O, CH4, CH2O, N2, NaCl, CH3COOH etc. Some examples of ions are Al+3, Ba+2, Bi+2, Na+, Cl-, N-3, O-2, etc.

References

  1. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1988STIA…8915174M/abstract
  2. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/ja00260a006