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The resulting combination is the compound sodium chloride. With two oppositely charged ions, there is an electrostatic attraction between them because opposite charges attract. On the right, the chloride ion has 18 electrons and has a 1− charge. On the left, the chlorine atom has 17 electrons. Most nonmetals become anions when they make ionic compounds.įigure 3.2 The Formation of a Chlorine Ion

Negatively charged ions are called anions A negatively charged ion. When these atoms gain electrons, they acquire a negative charge because they now possess more electrons than protons. Some atoms have nearly eight electrons in their valence shell and can gain additional valence electrons until they have an octet. Most metals become cations when they make ionic compounds. Positively charged ions are called cations A positively charged ion. Atoms that lose electrons acquire a positive charge as a result because they are left with fewer negatively charged electrons to balance the positive charges of the protons in the nucleus.

In cases where an atom has three or fewer valence electrons, the atom may lose those valence electrons quite easily until what remains is a lower shell that contains an octet. Some atoms have only a few electrons in their outer shell, while some atoms lack only one or two electrons to have an octet. Most atoms do not have eight electrons in their valence electron shell.