Chemical Bonding

Alaa Hafiz

Learning outcomes:

METALS

Properties of Metals
Metals..
1) .. are shiny and lustrous.
2) .. are ductile.
3) .. are malleable.
4) .. have high melting and boiling points.
5) .. have high electrical and thermal
conductivity.
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Metallic Bonding
Metal consist of
positively charged
metal ions suspended
in the sea of
delocalized electrons
and are held together
by strong metallic
bond in the metallic
lattice.
Metallic lattice
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Metallic Bond
Force of attraction between positively
charged metal ions and the sea of
delocalized electrons in a metallic lattice.

Metallic bonding in Sodium

97.8 C
1s2, 2s2, 2p6, 3s1

Metallic bonding in sodium

Metals tend to have high melting and boiling points
suggesting strong bonds between atoms. Even a metal
like sodium (melting point of 97.8C melts at a
considerably higher temperature than the element
(neon)which precedes it in the periodic table.
Sodium has the electronic structure of 1s2, 2s2, 2p6, 3s1 .
When sodium atoms come together , the electron in the
3s atomic orbital of one sodium ion shares the space
with the corresponding electron on a neighboring atom to
form a molecular orbital-( in the same sort of way that a
covalent bond is formed.)
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 The difference, however, is that each sodium atom is

being touched by eight other sodium atoms- and the
sharing occurs between the central atom and the 3s
orbitals on all the eight other atoms. And each of these
eight is in turn touched by eight other sodium atoms,
which in turn are touched by eight other atoms and so on
so forth, until you have taken in all the atoms in that
lump of sodium.
All of the 3s orbitals overlap to give a vast number of
molecular orbitals which extend over the whole piece of
metal. There have to be huge numbers of molecular
orbitals, of course, because any orbital can only hold two
electrons. The electrons can move freely within these
molecular orbitals, and so each electron becomes
detached from its parent atom. The electrons are said to
be delocalized. The metal is held together by the strong
forces of attraction between the positive nuclei
and the
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delocalized electron. (Also known as Metallic Bond)

Are metals made of ions or

atoms?.
Its made up of atoms because each
positive center in the diagram represents
all the rest of the atom apart from the
outer electron, but the electron hasnt
been lost. It may no longer be attached to
a particular atom but its still there in the
structure. Sodium metal is therefore
written as Na not Na+.
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Physical properties of
metals

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Melting and boiling points

Metals tend to have high melting and
boiling points because of the strength of
the metallic bond.
The strength of the bond varies from metal
to metal and depends on
* the number of electrons which each
atom delocalizes into the sea of electrons
*size of the atom
*on the packing.
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Explain why Group I metals have relatively low

melting and boiling points [3]
Each atom of a Group I element contributes only
one electron to the bond.
They have relatively larger atoms (greater
atomic radius), which means that the nuclei are
some distance from the delocalized electrons,
which also weakens the bond.
Group I elements are also inefficiently packed
(8-co-ordinated) so that they arent forming as
many bonds as most metals
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12 co-ordination

8 co-ordination

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Crystal grains
It would be misleading to
suppose that all the
atoms in a piece of metal
are arranged in a regular
way. Any piece of metal is
made up of a large
number of "crystal
grains", which are regions
of regularity. At the grain
boundaries atoms have
become misaligned.
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Electrical conductivity
Why are metals considered good conductors of electricity?
Metals conduct electricity. The delocalized electrons are
free to move throughout the structure in 3-dimensions.
They can cross grain boundaries. Even though the
pattern may be disrupted at the boundary, as long as
atoms are touching each other, the metallic bond is still
present.
Liquid metals also conduct electricity, showing that
although the metal atoms may be free to move, the
delocalization remains in force until the metal boils.

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Thermal conductivity
Metals are good conductors of heat. Heat
energy is picked up by the electrons as
additional kinetic energy (it makes them move
faster). The energy is transferred throughout the
rest of the metal by the moving electrons.

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Malleability and ductility

Metals are described as malleable (can be
beaten into sheets) and ductile (can be pulled
out into wires). This is because of the ability of
the atoms to roll over each other into new
positions without breaking the metallic bond.
If a small stress is put onto the metal, the layers
of atoms will start to roll over each other. If the
stress is released again, they will fall back to
their original positions. Under these
circumstances, the metal is said to be elastic.
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If a larger stress is put on, the atoms roll over each other into a new
position, and the metal is permanently changed.

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The hardness of metals

This rolling of layers of atoms over each other is
hindered by grain boundaries because the rows
of atoms don't line up properly. It follows that the
more grain boundaries there are (the smaller the
individual crystal grains), the harder the metal
becomes.
Offsetting this, because the grain boundaries are
areas where the atoms aren't in such good
contact with each other, metals tend to fracture
at grain boundaries. Increasing the number of
grain boundaries not only makes the metal
harder, but also makes it more brittle.21

Multiple choice questions

Q1: Metals lose electrons from their
lattice to become
A. positive ions
B. negative ions
C. alkalis
D. non-metals

Q2: Neither ions nor electrons are free to

move in
A. liquids
B. metals
C. ionic solids
D. All of Above

Q3: Attractive forces between metal

ions and delocalized electrons can be
weaken or overcome by
A. hammer
B. high temperature
C. water
D. All of Above

Q4: Metals are good conductors due to

A. ionic lattices
B. crystalline lumps
C. mostly solids
D. delocalized electrons
Q5: Conduction of electricity in metallic
bonding is due to presence of
A. protons
B. lattice
C. delocalized electrons
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D. nucleus

Question 1
Look at the table below:

a) Which substance, A,B or C could have a metallic structure?

[1]
b) Which substance, A, B or C could have a simple covalent
structure?
[1]
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Question 2
You will need a copy of the Periodic Table.
Potassium, calcium and scandium follow each other in the Periodic
Table. Their melting and boiling points look like this:

a) Write down the electronic structure of each of these in s, p, d notation.

b) Each of these is held together in the solid by metallic bonding. Using
potassium as an example, explain the nature of metallic bonding.
c) The metallic bond isn't completely broken until a metal boils. State
what happens to the strength of the metallic bond as you go from
potassium to calcium to scandium.
d) Explain as fully as you can the effect you have described in part (c).
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2(a) Potassium- 1s2, 2s2, 2p6, 3s2, 3p6, 4s1

Calcium-1s2, 2s2, 2p6, 3s2, 3p6, 4s2
Scandium- 1s2, 2s2, 2p6, 3s2, 3p6, 3d1, 4s2
(b) Potassium has the electronic structure of 1s2, 2s2, 2p6, 3s2, 3p6, 4s1. When
potassium atoms come together, the electron in the 4s atomic orbital of one
potassium ion shares the space with the corresponding electron on a
neighboring atom to form a molecular orbital. All of the 4s orbitals overlap to
give a vast number of molecular orbitals which extend over the whole piece of
metal. The electrons can move freely within these molecular orbitals, and are
said to be delocalized. The metal is held together by the strong forces of
attraction between the positive nuclei and the delocalized electron also known
as metallic bond.
(c) As you across from potassium to scandium, the strength of the metallic bond
increases.
(d) This is due to the:
Increase in the number of delocalized electrons (number of electrons
contributed by each atom of an element)
Decrease in size of atom/ atomic radius (Atomic radius decreases due to
increase in nuclear charge ).
Potassium is 8-co ordinated (less efficient packing) whereas calcium is 12co ordinated (more efficient packing/ closely packed)
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