Beryllium oxide.

The ionic compound containing beryllium and oxygen is beryllium oxide. The beryllium ion has a charge of ##”2″^+”## and has the symbol ##”Be”^(2+)”##. The oxide ion has a charge of ##”2″^-“## and has the symbol ##”O”^(2-)”##. The formula unit for beryllium oxide is ##”BeO”##.

BeO can be produced by the reaction between beryllium and oxygen. In this reaction, each Be atom loses its two valence electrons to O atoms, forming ##”Be”^(2+)”## ions and ##”O”^(2-)”## ions. The electrostatic attraction between the oppositely charged ions forms the ionic bond. ##”2Be”## + ##”O”_2″## ##rarr## ##”2Be”^(2+)”## + ##”2O”^(2-)”## ##rarr## ##”2BeO”##.

Note: BeO forms a crystal lattice with covalent character, and has an intermediate ionic-covalent character.http://www.docbrown.info/page07/ASA2ptable4b.htmhttp://www.docbrown.info/page07/ASA2ptable4.htm