bivalence
Quick Summary
In chemistry, valence refers to the combining power of an element, indicating how many other atoms an atom of that element can bond with. This concept was crucial for 19th-century chemists, who developed empirical rules to determine valence before a theoretical understanding existed.1
The modern understanding of valence is rooted in G.N. Lewis's 1916 identification of the chemical bond as a pair of electrons shared between two atoms. Valence is closely related to an element's position in the periodic table, influencing properties like metallic character and electronegativity.12
A bivalent (or divalent) species in chemistry is one that has a valence of two, meaning it can form two bonds. For example, calcium can be bivalent. The term "bi-bivalent" describes an electrolyte that dissociates into two bivalent ions.34
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