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When NaCl (sodium chloride, table salt) dissolves in water, the NaCl molecules break apart. The hydrogen atoms form hydrogen bonds (I think?) with the Cl- ions. What is the name of the bond between the oxygen atoms and the Na+ ions?

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    $\begingroup$ There is no molecules in solid sodium chloride. There is a series of alternating $\ce{Na+}$ and $\ce{Cl-}$ ions alined on the three axes Ox, Oy and Oz. When dissolved in water, these ions are simply separated without any molecular breaking. $\endgroup$
    – Maurice
    Aug 17 at 17:02
  • $\begingroup$ Hydrogen bonding is mainly used for polar covalent bonds and not for free ions. $\endgroup$ Aug 17 at 17:09
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    $\begingroup$ Both the sodium cation and chloride anion will be surrounded by polar water molecules forming a "coordination sphere." However such + and - groups can be attracted to one another in concentrated solutions and form an ion pair. Ion pairing is one reason that activities differ from concentrations. $\endgroup$
    – MaxW
    Aug 17 at 19:10

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