factors of interaction between atoms

mather

hello!

I want to know which factors determine the strength of interactions between two atoms (which both or one or none can be a part of a bigger molecule)

thanks

chill_factor

this gets very complicated very fast. It is not a simple problem at all. But in general the greater the difference of electronegativity between 2 atoms, the stronger their bond will be.

mather

what is complicated about it?
I just need a complete list of all the factors, not explanation of each one

chill_factor

because there's alot of exceptions especially for transition metals.

but in general these are useful:

electronegativity
orbital completion and octet rule
acid/base
symmetry
redox potential

mather

distance?
other atoms near?

chill_factor

distance: they have to be pretty close. typical bond lengths are nanometers and there's no way that something on one side of the room can "immediately" react with something on the other side. what happens is that one thing is a "source" of reactant molecules/atoms and it diffuses to the other reactants. but usually we don't care about distance because in a chemical plant in New Orleans we don't care what's going on in Seattle; anything that's relevant to the reaction is already there and can be accounted for with diffusion and convection.

other atoms nearby: usually doesn't matter except for 2 things: enzymes and catalysts, but neither are atoms.

mather

acid/base isnt a matter of electronegativity?
redox potential isnt a matter of electronegativity?

in any large organic molecule, nearby atoms dont affect the atoms and thus their interaction between them?

mather

anyone???

Einstein Mcfly

What are you actually asking here? Your question is so vague that it's impossible to answer. "Factors of interaction between atoms" is basically a huge portion of physical chemistry and the entirely of computational/quantum chemistry depending on what level of detail you want. Unless you clarify what you're asking the only proper answer is "Take four years of undergraduate chemistry followed by a PhD in physical chemistry".