Why does hydrogen occur in a diatomic form rather than in a monoatomic form under normal conditions?

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asked Oct 10, 2017 in Chemistry by jisu zahaan (28,760 points) 26 374 812

Why does hydrogen occur in a diatomic form rather than in a monoatomic form under normal conditions? 

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answered Oct 10, 2017 by sforrest072 (157,439 points) 61 410 939

The ionization enthalpy of hydrogen atom is very high (1312 kJ mol–1 ). Hence, it is very hard to remove its only electron. As a result, its tendency to exist in the monoatomic form is rather low. Instead, hydrogen forms a covalent bond with another hydrogen atom and exists as a diatomic (H2) molecule. 

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