All salts are ionic compounds, but not all ionic compounds are salts.

Interestingly, IUPAC states that a "salt" is "a chemical compound consisting of an assembly of cations and anions". Under this definition, all ionic compounds are salts, and all salts are ionic compounds.

Therefore, something like sodium hydroxide ($\ce{Na+OH-}$, definitely an ionic compound) could actually be correctly called a salt. This clashes with the commonly taught high-school level definition of a salt ("the product of an acid-base reaction"), unless you consider very general definitions of acids and bases such as the Usanovich definition, whereby sodium metal $\ce{Na^0}$ is an electron donor (and therefore a base) and water is an electron acceptor (and therefore an acid).

That said, the high-school definition is too simplistic. It is common for compounds to be an acid, a base and a salt all at the same time; consider for example sodium bicarbonate ($\ce{Na+HCO3-}$). It is made of cations and anions, and therefore is definitely a salt. Furthermore, it can act as both a Brønsted–Lowry acid ($\ce{NaHCO3 + OH- -> H2O + Na+ + CO3^2-}$) and as a Brønsted–Lowry base ($\ce{NaHCO3 + H+ -> Na+ + H2CO3}$). Another amusing example is hydrazinium sulfate, a salt, acid and base, where both the cation and anion are also both acids and bases!

All salts are ionic compounds.

E.g. copper chloride CuCl2, zinc sulphate ZnSO4 and calcium chloride CaCl2.

All salts are ionic compounds, but not all ionic compounds are salts.

 All the salt shakers wear transfer t-shirts (ionic bonding).

NOTE:

All ionic compounds are salts (except oxides (metal + oxygen) and hydroxides (metal + hydrogen)).

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Hint:An ionic bond is a type of bond which are joined between cations and anions, cations are positive while the anions are negative, and in salts also there are two parts, i.e., positive and negative part.

Complete step-by-step answer:There are three types of bonds that are formed between the elements to form a compound, these are ionic, covalent, and coordinate bonds. An ionic bond is formed between a metal and a nonmetal, a covalent bond is formed between two nonmetals, and a coordinate bond is formed when the ligand donates its electron towards the central metal atom.
An ionic bond is a type of bond which is joined between cations and anions, cations are positive while the anions are negative, and in salts also there are two parts, i.e., positive and negative parts.
So, according to the IUPAC, salt is, "a chemical compound consisting of an assembly of cations and anions". Therefore, we can say that all ionic bonds are salts and all salts contain ionic bonds.
For example, sodium chloride NaCl is a salt in which the sodium ion is the positive part, i.e., cation and it has 1 positive charge ($N{{a}^{+}}$) and the chloride ion is the negative part, i.e., anion and it has 1 negative charge ($C{{l}^{-}}$).
Some other examples having ionic bonds are sodium hydroxide (NaOH), sodium bicarbonate ($NaHC{{O}_{3}}$), magnesium chloride ($MgC{{l}_{2}}$), etc.

Note:Don't get confused between ionic and coordinate bonds, in $Fe{{(CN)}_{6}}$ you could say that there are ionic bonds, but there is a coordinate bond because the cyanide is the ligand and iron is the central metal ion.

Salt is made up of and ionically bonded with sodium and chloride. Sugar, on the other hand, has covalent bonds and is composed of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen. One sodium atom and one chlorine atom make up a salt molecule. The sodium atom must lose an electron to become a sodium ion for salt to be produced.

An ion has a charge that can be a cation, a charged atom that is positive and an anion a negatively charged atom. The neutralised form of two (or more) ions, on the other hand, is salt. Two ions are composed of a salt, the cation and the anion. A salt with a sodium cation and a chloride anion is sodium chloride.

Electron Shells

Electrons are in constant motion outside of an atom’s nucleus. The electron shell is the region that the electrons travel in (see Fig. 2.21). Electron shells are labeled with numbers 1 through 7. Each shell holds an increasing number of electrons, beginning with electron shell 1, which holds a maximum of two electrons (see Table 2.6).

Table 2.6. Maximum number of electrons in each shell, up to shell 7
Electron ShellNumber of electrons per shell
1 2
2 8
3 18
4 32
5 50
6 50
7 50

In theory, electron shells 6 and 7 can hold more electrons, but in the known elements, 50 is the maximum number of electrons in these shells.

When one shell fills to its limit, electrons are added to the next shell. In a neutral atom, the number of negatively charged electrons is equal to the number of positively charged protons.

  • Hydrogen (H), with atomic number one, has one electron in shell 1 (Fig. 2.21 A).
  • Oxygen (O), with atomic number eight, has a total of eight electrons, two in shell 1 and six in shell 2 (Fig. 2.21 B).
  • Sodium (Na), with atomic number eleven, has two electrons in shell 1, eight electrons in shell 2, and one electron in shell 3. (Fig. 2.21 C).

All salts are ionic compounds, but not all ionic compounds are salts.


As the electron shells go from 1 to 7, they increase in size and average energy. In other words, the farther the shell is from the nucleus, the larger it is, and the higher its average energy. The valence shell is the outermost electron shell of an atom. In general, the electrons in valence shells determine how the atom behaves in chemical reactions. For example, atoms with complete valence shells, the noble gases, are the least chemically reactive. On the other hand, electrons that have only one electron in their valence shells (Group 1 elements) or elements that are just one electron short of having a complete shell (Group 17) are the most reactive.

Ions

While the atomic number, the number of protons in the nucleus, never changes, some electrons are easily lost or gained by an atom. When an atom gains or loses an electron, the atom no longer has a balanced charge. Therefore, the atom is no longer neutral. An ion is a charged atom. An atom that has gained negatively charged electrons becomes negative. A negative ion or anion is an atom that has gained electrons. An atom that has lost negatively charged electrons becomes positive. A positive ion or cation is an atom that has lost electrons.

Nonmetals tend to gain electrons and become anions. For example, in Fig. 2.22 A, a neutral oxygen atom (O), with eight protons and eight electrons, gains two electrons. This gives it two more negative charges than positive charges and an overall charge of 2–. Metal elements tend to lose electrons and become cations. For example, in Fig. 2.22 B, a neutral sodium atom (Na), with 11 protons and 11 electrons, loses one electron. This gives it one less negative charge than positive charges and an overall charge of 1+.

All salts are ionic compounds, but not all ionic compounds are salts.


Group 18 elements, the noble gases, are very stable (non-reactive). This is because they have completely full valence electron shells. The octet rule states that regardless of how many electrons a shell can potentially hold, the valence shell can only hold eight electrons. The noble gases have eight electrons in their valence shells. Other elements will gain or lose electrons to achieve completely full valence shells, eight electrons in the valence shell, so that they are also stable. In Fig. 2.22 A, the oxygen atom gained two electrons so that it had eight electrons in shell 2, its valence shell. In Fig. 2.22 B, sodium lost one electron so that it had eight electrons in shell 2, which becomes its valence shell.

The periodic table can help in predicting the type of ion that an element will form based on how many electrons need to be gained or lost for it to become stable. Elements will gain or lose electrons to have the same configuration as a noble gas, in other words, to have a full octet. Atoms tend to gain or lose the least number of electrons to achieve a full octet. In other words, if an atom could lose one electron or gain seven to have a full octet, it will lose one.

Ion Formation Patterns

In general, atoms form ions according to the following patterns:

  1. Metals in Group 1 have only one electron in their valence shell. They can give up this one electron and become 1+. Group 2 elements give up two electrons to become 2+, and Group 3 give up three electrons to become 3+.
  2. Nonmetals in Group 17 need just one electron to complete their valence shell. They can gain one electron and become 1–. Group 16 elements gain two electrons to become 2–, and Group 15 elements gain three electrons to become 3–.
  3. All the remaining metal elements produce at least one ion with a charge of 2+.

Some elements can form ions with two or more different charges. Iron (Fe), for example, can form both an iron ion with 2+ (Fe2+) and an iron ion with 3+ (Fe3+).

Naming Ions

A neutral sodium (Na) atom loses one electron to form a sodium ion (Na+) with a charge of 1+ (see Table 2.8). A positive ion, or cation, has the same name as the element. Thus there are sodium (Na+) ions as well as potassium (K+) ions, calcium (Ca2+) ions, and aluminum (Al3+) ions. Notice that if the charge of an ion is 1+, the symbol is a superscript plus (+), without the number 1 (e.g., Na+).

Table 2.8. Naming positive and negative ions
ElementElement NameProtons in neutral atomElectrons in neutral atomElectrons gained or lost to achieve octetIon formedIon Name
Na Sodium 11 11 1 lost

Na+ (cation)

Sodium ion
Cl Chlorine 17 17 1 gained Cl- (anion) Chloride ion

A neutral chlorine (Cl) atom that gains one electron changes into a chloride ion (Cl-) with a charge of 1– (see Table 2.8). To name a negative ion, or anion, the last part of the name of the atom is dropped and replaced with -ide. Thus there are chloride ions (Cl-), fluoride (F-) ions, sulfide (S2-) ions, and nitride (N3-) ions. Notice that if the charge of an ion is 1–, the symbol is a superscript minus (-), without the number 1 (e.g., Cl-).

Ionic Compounds

An ionic compound is a compound that is formed by ionic bonding. Ionic bonding occurs through a process called electron transfer, where one atom gives electrons to another. Imagine two puppies. One of the puppies has a bone (Fig. 2.23 A). The puppies represent atoms. The bone represents an electron. The puppies are both neutral. One puppy is a thief and steals the bone from the other puppy. The puppy thief now has the bone (Fig. 2.23 B). The puppy that does not have a bone, that lost its electron and is now positively charged, will follow the thief puppy, which has a negative charge, around to form a puppy pair. The puppy pair is the ionic compound (Fig. 2.23 C).

All salts are ionic compounds, but not all ionic compounds are salts.
All salts are ionic compounds, but not all ionic compounds are salts.
All salts are ionic compounds, but not all ionic compounds are salts.


In electron transfer, an atom of one element loses one or more electrons, and an atom of another element gains those electrons. Both of the atoms involved in electron transfer become ions. The atom that gains the electrons becomes a negatively changed anion, the atom that loses the electrons becomes a positively charged cation. The opposite charges on the ions cause the ions to bond, or be held together, by electrostatic forces. An ionic bond is a bond between ions where oppositely charged atoms attract each other and cancel their charges to produce neutral compounds.

Information about electron shells and ion formation can be used to predict how elements will interact to form ionic compounds. For example, each element in Group 1 gives up one electron to become a 1+ cation. Each element in Group 17 can gain one electron to become a 1– anion. Elements from Groups 1 and 17 can combine to form ionic compounds in a one-to-one ratio. Therefore, one lithium (Li) cation bonds with one fluorine (F) anion as lithium flouride (LiF). Other examples of ionic compounds that combine in a ratio of one cation to one anion are sodium chloride (NaCl) and potassium iodide (KI). In comparison, Group 1 cations (1+) combine with Group 16 anions (2–) in a two-to-one ratio. So, there are two lithium cations for every oxygen anion when they bond to form lithium oxide (Li2O). Bonds between other elements in Groups 1 and 16 also form two-to-one ratios. Examples of these include potassium oxide (K2O), lithium sulfide (Li2S), and sodium sulfide (Na2S).

An example of a one-to-one ratio ionic bond is shown in Fig. 2.24. A sodium atom transfers an electron to a chlorine atom (Fig. 2.24 A). During this process, the sodium has lost an electron to become a positive Na+ cation and chlorine has gained an electron to become a Cl– anion (Fig. 2.24 B). The Na+ ion then bonds to the Cl– ion by electrostatic forces. The 1+ charge of the sodium is balanced by the 1– charge of the chlorine. The resulting sodium chloride (NaCl) compound is neutrally charged (Fig. 2.24 C).

All salts are ionic compounds, but not all ionic compounds are salts.
All salts are ionic compounds, but not all ionic compounds are salts.
All salts are ionic compounds, but not all ionic compounds are salts.


An example of a two-to-one ratio ionic bond is shown in Fig. 2.25 for magnesium and chlorine. Because each magnesium atom can lose two electrons, and each chlorine atom can only gain one electron, magnesium must transfer its two electrons to two chlorine atoms. The magnesium cation (Mg2+) then bonds with two chloride anions (Cl-).

All salts are ionic compounds, but not all ionic compounds are salts.
All salts are ionic compounds, but not all ionic compounds are salts.
All salts are ionic compounds, but not all ionic compounds are salts.


Salts are Ionic Compounds

When most people use the word salt, they mean a specific kind of salt, sodium chloride (NaCl). Sodium chloride is the common table salt that we put on food. However, the term salt has a more general meaning in chemistry; salts are ionic compounds formed of cations and anions held together by ionic bonding.

In a crystal of table salt, sodium and chloride ions are arranged very closely together. A single, tiny crystal of table salt can be composed of a billion trillion ions. The sodium and chloride ions in table salt are arranged very closely together, their arrangement forms a crystal in the shape of a cube. In other salts, the ions may be arranged differently to form crystals of different shapes (Fig. 2.26).

All salts are ionic compounds, but not all ionic compounds are salts.
All salts are ionic compounds, but not all ionic compounds are salts.


Do all salts are ionic compounds?

So, according to the IUPAC, salt is, "a chemical compound consisting of an assembly of cations and anions". Therefore, we can say that all ionic bonds are salts and all salts contain ionic bonds.

Are salts and ionic compounds the same?

Interestingly, IUPAC states that a "salt" is "a chemical compound consisting of an assembly of cations and anions". Under this definition, all ionic compounds are salts, and all salts are ionic compounds.

Why are all salts ionic compounds?

Salts are ionic compounds which, when dissolved in water, break up completely into ions. They arise by the reaction of acids with bases, and they always contain either a metal cation or a cation derived from ammonium (NH4+). Examples of salts include NaCl, NH4F, MgCO3, and Fe2(HPO4)3.

Are salts ionic bond?

Salt is made up of sodium and chloride and is ionically bonded. Sugar, on the other hand, is composed of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen and has covalent bonds. A salt molecule is made up of one sodium atom and one chlorine atom. For salt to be made, the sodium atom must lose an electron and become a sodium ion.