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Which molecules contain triple covalent bonds?

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Diagram showing the formation of a polar covalent bond in a water molecule, with two hydrogen atoms bonding to one oxygen atom to form H2O, illustrating shared electrons and chemical reaction. — covalent bond In polar covalent bonds, such as that between hydrogen and oxygen atoms, the electrons are not transferred from one atom to the other as they are in an ionic bond. Instead, some outer electrons merely spend more time in the vicinity of the other atom. The effect of this orbital distortion is to induce regional net charges that hold the atoms together, such as in water molecules.

A triple bond is a type of covalent bond in which two atoms share three pairs of electrons. These bonds are characterized by their strength, which exceeds that of both single and double bonds.123

Common examples of molecules that contain triple covalent bonds include:

Nitrogen ( $N_{2}$ ): The diatomic nitrogen molecule is a primary example of a triple bond linkage.13
Acetylene ( $C_{2} H_{2}$ ): Also known as ethyne, this hydrocarbon features a triple bond between its two carbon atoms, resulting in a linear molecular geometry.123
Carbon monoxide ( $C O$ ): This molecule also contains a triple bond between the carbon and oxygen atoms.3

In these structures, the triple bond is represented by a triple dash (≡) in Lewis structures. While triple bonds are significantly strong, they are not necessarily three times as strong as a single bond.3