Nickel chloride has an ionic bond. This is because nickel is a metal and chlorine is a non-metal. In an ionic bond, the electronegative atom (chlorine) attracts electrons from the electropositive atom (nickel), resulting in the formation of charged ions (cations and anions). In the case of nickel chloride, the nickel atom loses two electrons to the two chlorine atoms, resulting in the formation of Ni2+ cations and Cl- anions, which are then held together by electrostatic forces to form the ionic compound.