Electron Transfer: Na → Na⁺ and Cl → Cl⁻

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⚡ Electron Transfer: Na → Na⁺ and Cl → Cl⁻

Ionic bonding in sodium chloride, in two rows. Top row, before: a sodium atom with 2,8,1 electrons and a chlorine atom with 2,8,7 electrons. A curved red arrow, labelled electron transfer, carries the one outer electron of sodium (drawn in red) to the empty place in chlorine's outer shell. Bottom row, after: a sodium ion with 2,8 electrons and a plus sign, and a chloride ion with 2,8,8 electrons and a minus sign, the transferred electron still red, joined by a dashed line labelled ionic bond.

Figure 1: Ionic bonding. The outer electron from sodium is transferred completely to chlorine, forming Na⁺ and Cl⁻ ions. Each ion now has a full outer shell, and the opposite charges attract.

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