what are dative covalent bonds?

Question

Can someone explain to me the dative covalent bond in detail. or you can give any useful websites if you want

Answer 1

A covalent bond is formed by two atoms sharing a pair of electrons. The atoms are held together because the electron pair is attracted by both of the nuclei.

In the formation of a simple covalent bond, each atom supplies one electron to the bond - but that doesn't have to be the case. A co-ordinate bond (also called a dative covalent bond) is a covalent bond (a shared pair of electrons) in which both electrons come from the same atom. An example is ammonia molecule.

Answer 2

Most of the above answer is correct, except that it is the ammonium ion which contains an example of a dative covalent bond, not ammonia. Once formed, you cannot tell which one of the four bonds it is.