Metallic Bonding

• Metallic bonding involves delocalised electrons:

  • Metals consist of a giant Structure
  • The electrons in the outer shell of the metal atoms are delocalised. There are Strong forces of electrostatic attraction between the positive Metal ions and the shared negative electrons
  • These forces of attraction hold the atoms together in a strong, regular Structure
• Most metals are Solid at room temp:

  • their electrostatic forces are very Strong, so require lots of energy to breaks
  • they mainly have high melting and boiling points
• Metals are good conductors:

  • the delocalised electrons carry electrical charge over the whole Structure, so metals are great conductors of heat and electricity
• Most metals are malleable

  • the layers of atoms in a metal can slide over eachother, meaning metals can be bent, hammered or rolled into flat sheets
• Alloys are harder than pure metals

  • pure metals are often mixed with other elements to make them harder
  • This works because different elements have different sized atoms. so when an element is mixed with a metal, the new atoms will distort the layers of metal atoms making it more difficult for them to slide over eachother