Giant Ionic Bonding

• Giant ionic structures have a high melting point because:

  • Strong bonds
  • Strong electrostatic forces
  • Lots of energy is required to break these bonds
  • Giant lattice structure means a lot of energy is required to break these many bonds
• Giant ionic structures can carry electricity only when molten or dissolved
• Giant ionic structures can't conduct electricity when solid because the ions aren't free to carry the charge through the structure
• Ionic bonding is between a metal and non-metal
• Ionic structures can only conduct electricity when molten or dissolved because then the ions are free to carry the charge through the structure