The Chemistry of Solids - Part 2, Properties of Metals

Greetings,

This post discusses the chemical properties of metals in their elemental form.  Metals in their elemental form are, generally, what most people think of when they hear the word, "metal".  All pure metals are elements and all but one are solids at ambient conditions.  Mercury is the "black sheep" of elemental metals because it is a liquid at ambient conditions.

Metals are malleable (can be rolled and formed), ductile (can be pulled), lustrous (shiny), and conduct (heat and electricity).  Properties of metals stem from their tight crystal (yet flexible) structure and overlap of atomic orbitals.    The overlap of orbitals results in electrons freely moving through the metal crystal.  We say that the electrons are delocalized, which is what gives a metal its properties, especially the ability to conduct heat and electricity.  Delocalized electrons are free to roam even across vast distances, which occurs within high-power electrical lines.

The following graphic provides atomic level depictions of metallic crystalline structure and orbital overlap.

The atomic level view of the crystal structure only shows one layer.  Likewise the d-orbital overlap diagram is a simplified view, as the overlap occurs across the third dimension as well.

That's all for this post.  Thank you for reading!

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