Polar molecules are attracted to each other. The attraction results from the negative region of one molecule, the oxygen atom, being drawn to the positive region of another molecule, the hydrogen atom. Opposites attract! The attractions between water molecules are particularly strong. Oxygen atoms have a very great affinity for electrons, and so the hydrogen atoms bonded to an oxygen atom acquire a significant positive charge. These hydrogen atoms are very tiny, so the positive charge is quite concentrated. This concentrated positive charge enhances the attraction of the hydrogen atoms in one molecule for the oxygen atom in another molecule. These attractions are represented by the green lines (highlighted by arrows) in the figure. This attraction is so strong that it has been given a particular name:
hydrogen bonding. The energy associated with hydrogen bonds in water is about 20 kJ•mol–1, which is about 1/10 the strength of a typical shared-electron bond within a molecule.
Hydrogen bonding between water molecules gives water 100 its unique properties. For example, hydrogen bonding is responsible for the lower density of ice, solid water, than of liquid water. Any one water molecule can form four hydrogen bonds with four neighboring molecules. Extension of this hydrogen bonding in three dimensions produces interconnected cages of water molecules in ice, with empty space inside the cages. When the solid melts, many of the hydrogen bonds are broken and the structure collapses, so liquid water is denser than the solid. Hydrogen bonding is also responsible for the six-fold symmetry of snowflakes
(http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/), for im- 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 portant interactions with biological molecules in living organisms, and for the unusually high boiling point, melting point, surface tension, and specific heat of water. Hydrogen bonding and the polarity of water also explain its solvent properties.
Water has a remarkably high boiling point for a substance with such small molecules. In order for a substance to boil, the molecules of the liquid must have enough energy to overcome the forces of attraction between them. Generally, boiling points of related compounds increase with molar mass. When the boiling points of the hydrogen compounds (hydrides) of Group VI elements, H2O, H2S, H2Se, and H2Te are plotted versus molar mass, water is far out of line with the heavier compounds. If water followed the trend for the two heaviest hydrides, its boiling point would be about −90 C. The boiling point of water is 100 C, which is 190 C above the extrapolated value. It requires a high temperature to give water molecules enough kinetic energy to overcome the extensive hydrogenbonded network among them. For similar reasons, water also has a higher melting point than would be expected for its low molar mass. The H2S molecule is only slightly polar, but enough to make its boiling point a bit higher than predicted by the extrapolation from the non-polar heaviest hydrides.