How do I break ionic bonds?

Ionic bonds can be broken in several ways. One way is by adding water to an ionic compound. Water has a partial negative charge on the oxygen atom and a partial positive charge on the hydrogen atoms. When an ionic substance is placed in water, water molecules attract the positive and negative ions from the crystal, closely associating with them. Negative ions have water molecules with their hydrogen atoms close, while positive ions are surrounded by water molecules with their oxygen atoms close. This reaction reduces the attractions between ions, allowing them to move freely within the solution. Another method to break ionic bonds is to apply heat. To melt an ionic compound, a significant amount of heat must be supplied to break all the ionic bonds within the crystal structure. For instance, sodium chloride has a melting temperature of around 800 °C. An additional technique is to apply mechanical force. Applying significant force, such as striking an ionic crystal with a hammer, is necessary to induce the shifting of one layer of ions against another. However, this aligns ions of the same charge next to each other, leading to repulsive forces between them. Consequently, the crystal shatters upon breaking due to the strong repulsion.