What is Catenation?
By BYJU'S Exam Prep
Updated on: November 9th, 2023
Catenation is a property of a chemical element to form different types of bonds by joining other atoms of the same element. Catenation is binding an atom of an element to another atom of the same element with the help of single, double, or triple bonds. Carbon is so popular element for catenation, and due to this, it can create a long chain or series of their atoms. Mostly catenation property relates to carbon as it forms longer chains by creating covalent bonds with other carbon atoms.
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Example of Catenation
Carbon is not the only atom that has catenation properties. Other elements include Hydrogen, Silicon, Boron, Sulfur, and Phosphorous. Besides the carbon element, Hydrogen, silicon, and sulfur atoms are not enough to make bonds. As their atom’s size is bigger than carbon atoms, it becomes difficult to bond with other atoms.
- Atom’s electronic and steric factors play an important role in Catenation.
- Carbon is popular for Catenation as it easily catenates long open and closed chains.
- Other elements barely create stronger bonds than carbon due to their heavy size.
- We usually find that the amount of carbon is more than any other element because of the high catenation nature of carbon.
Catenation Tendencies
The right catenation sequence is C>Si>Ge>Sn. As we move down the group families, the bond’s strength decreases. That’s why the Catenation tendency decreases.
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