(recap) Metallic bonds
- All metal atoms donate their valence electrons and these electrons are now delocalised from their atoms and move about freely. The metal atoms now become positively charged metal ions.
- The negatively charged electrons circulate as a cloud around the positively charged metal ions, and they attract and are bound to each other.
- This results in metal ions in neatly organised lattices, surrounded by a sea of mobile electrons.
- As a result, metals are good electrical and thermal conductors due to the sea of mobile electrons.
Properties of metals
- Metals are good electrical conductors because they have numerous mobile electrons available to carry electric charges.
- Metals are good thermal conductors because the free electrons are able to transfer the increase of kinetic energy from the hotter part of the metal to the cooler part.
- Metals are malleable due to the structure of its ions. When a force is exerted, the layers of metal ions slide past each other and move out of place while bonded as a whole. This makes it deform easily but it does not fracture or tear apart.
- They are also ductile, meaning that they can be drawn into thin wires without tearing apart.
- Most metals have high melting temperatures due to the strong electrostatic attractive force between the metal cations and the cloud of delocalised electrons.

3.04 - Metallic Bonding

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