Metallic Bonding

• Only between metal atoms
• • A metal consists of a giant structure of atoms that are arranged in a regular pattern
  • When all these atoms are together they give up their outer shell electrons and share them in a sea of delocalised electrons
  • All the atoms become positive ions
  • This means there will be lots of strong electrostatic attraction between the positive ions and the negative electrons
  • These electrostatic forces hold everything together in a regular structure and that is metallic bonding
• The electrostatic forces give the metal strength and a high melting and boiling point
• Metals can also conduct electricity and heat because the delocalised electrons can carry current and thermal energy throughout the structure.
• Metals are malleable, which means they can be easily bent or hammered into shapes. This is because the regular structure means the metal layers can slide over each other so the shape isn't as fixed.
• Alloys are mixtures of two or more different elements. Either a metal and non-metal or two different metals. We pick elements that have different sizes of atoms to prevent the layers from sliding over one another and making the alloy much harder than pure metal.
• Steel is an alloy of iron that contains 1-2% carbon. It can also contain chromium, manganese or vanadium.
• Alloys are used in cars and planes