Why do water, ammonia, and hydrogen fluoride have unusually high boiling points?

Water ($H_{2}O$), ammonia ($N{H}_3$), and hydrogen fluoride ($HF$) exhibit unusually high boiling points compared to their heavier analogues—such as hydrogen sulfide ($H_{2}S$), phosphine ($P{H}_3$), and hydrogen chloride ($HCl$)—primarily due to hydrogen bonding.12

Hydrogen bonding occurs when a hydrogen atom is covalently bound to a small, highly electronegative atom, such as fluorine, oxygen, or nitrogen. This interaction creates strong intermolecular forces in the liquid state. Because these hydrogen bonds are relatively strong, a significant amount of thermal energy is required to break them to permit vaporization, which results in higher boiling temperatures for these specific compounds.12