An amount of energy associated with a bond in a chemical compound. It is obtained from the heat of atomization. For instance, in methane the bond energy of the C–H bond is one quarter of the enthalpy of the process
Bond energies (or bond enthalpies) can be calculated from the standard enthalpy of formation of the compound and from the enthalpies of atomization of the elements. Energies calculated in this way are called average bond energies or bond-energy terms. They depend to some extent on the molecule chosen; the C–H bond energy in methane will differ slightly from that in ethane. The bond dissociation energy is a different measurement, being the energy required to break a particular bond; e.g. the energy for the process: