Salt Formation, The Process

Salt formation is an important part of ionic bonding. I will now explain the steps of salt formation using sodium chloride as an example.

(Process courtesy of Holt Chemistry textbook)

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0. Starting: Na(s) and Cl2(g)
1. Energy must be added to the sodium to make it a gas: Na(s) + energy ---> Na(g)
2. More energy must be added to remove an electron from each sodium atom:
Na(g) + energy ---> Na^+(g) + e^-
3. Energy must be added to break up Cl2 molecules to produce Cl atoms: 1/2 Cl2(g) + energy ---> Cl(g)
4. Some energy is released as an electron is added to each Cl atom to form a Cl^- ion:
CL(g) + e^- ---> Cl^-(g) + energy
5. Much more energy is released as Na^+ and Cl^- ions come together to form an ionic crystal:
Na^+(g) + Cl^-(g) ---> NaCl(s) + energy = Lattice Forms

NaCl Crystal Structure

here is a webpage showing the NaCl lattice from different viewpoints