5) Metallic bonding

• Metallic bonding occurs in:

  • metallic elements, such as iron and copper
  • alloys, such as stainless steel.
• Metals have a giant structure in which electrons in the outer shell are delocalised (not bound to one atom).
• This produces a regular arrangement (lattice) of positive ions held together by electrostatic attraction to the delocalised electrons.
• A metallic bond is the attraction between the positive ions and the delocalised negatively charged electrons.