The foundation of our understanding of the chemical bond dates back to the pioneering work of G. N. Lewis. Lewis’s ideas were then framed in the language of quantum mechanics by Pauling and Slater resulting in the present day classification of chemical bonds as either covalent/polar covalent or ionic. However, in the early 1990’s Sason Shaik and Philippe Hiberty began to challenge this paradigm with a new form of chemical bond that is neither covalent nor ionic alone, but due to the resonance mixing of both together. This new type of bonding was named charge-shift bonding (CSB). Originally CSB was seen as an anomaly of valence bond theory by which it was discovered. However, in recent years CSB has been gaining attention and is being recognized by other forms of theory and being verified experimentally. In this talk I will discuss my work with Shaik and Hiberty on CSB over the past several decades. I will start by defining CSB in the context of VB theory and then show how it extends to other forms of theory as well. I will then show some experimental manifestations of this unique bonding situation and discuss its potential applications. The chemical bond is at the heart of chemistry and the way we view bonds has remained unchanged for over 100 years. CSB is a real and unique form of chemical bond that has the potential to completely change the way we think about chemistry.

Redefining our concept of the chemical bond

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

[Author Benefits](https://scimeetings.acs.org/?utm_source=pubs_content_marketing&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=0320_MCF_NPI_Launch_Spring_Homepage&ref=pubs_content_marketing)

[How to use SciMeetings](https://storage.googleapis.com/dl.morressier.com/acs/SciMeetings-ACSSpring2020-HowToGuide_M3020-Final.pdf)

[Frequently Asked Questions](https://storage.googleapis.com/dl.morressier.com/acs/SciMtng_ACSNMSp2020_FAQ_M3120_Final.pdf)

ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.