In: Chemistry
A hydrogen bond is the electrostatic attraction between two polar groups that occurs when a hydrogen atom covalently bound to a highly electronegative atom. Usually the electronegative atom is oxygen, nitrogen, or fluorine, which has a partial negative charge. The hydrogen then has the partial positive charge.
The hydrogen bond is really a special case of dipole forces. The electronegative atom must have one or more unshared electron pairs as in the case of oxygen and nitrogen, and has a negative partial charge. The hydrogen, which has a partial positive charge tries to find another atom of oxygen or nitrogen with excess electrons to share and is attracted to the partial negative charge. This forms the basis for the hydrogen bond.
Hydrogen bonding is usually stronger than normal dipole forces between molecules.
For example
The polarity of the water molecule with the attraction of the positive and negative partial charges is the basis for the hydrogen bonding.