Dipolar compound

In organic chemistry, a dipolar compound or simply dipole is an electrically neutral molecule carrying a positive and a negative charge in at least one canonical description. In most dipolar compounds the charges are delocalized. Unlike salts, dipolar compounds have charges on separate atoms, not on positive and negative ions that make up the compound. Dipolar compounds exhibit a dipole moment.

${\displaystyle {\ce {[R-{\overset {\oplus }{N}}{\equiv }{\overset {\ominus }{C}}{:}<->R-{\ddot {N}}=C{:}]}}}$

Example of a dipolar compound, represented by a resonance structure (isocyanide)

Dipolar compounds can be represented by a resonance structure. Contributing structures containing charged atoms are denoted as zwitterions. Some dipolar compounds can have an uncharged canonical form.