A metallic bond allows the atoms of a metal compound to maintain their bond.
A link is a connection, link or union between two elements. Metallic , for its part, is something related to a metal (a chemical element that has a shine that characterizes it and that allows it to conduct electricity and heat).
In the field of chemistry , the bond established by two atoms that are part of a chemical compound is called a bond. The specific case of the metallic bond refers to the union of this type that occurs in a metal.
Before moving forward, it is worth remembering that an atom is a particle that has a nucleus with electrons around it. Atoms cannot be split by chemical mechanisms.
What is a metallic bond
A metallic bond , in this framework, allows the atoms of a metal compound to stay together, clustering close to each other. This proximity causes both the nuclei and the electronic clouds to interact and very compact structures are generated.
In this type of structure, each metal atom is surrounded by another dozen atoms. The valence electrons , meanwhile, leave their orbitals and move freely throughout the compound. This particularity generates the already mentioned thermal and electrical properties of metals.
The mobility of the valence electrons in the metallic bond not only confers good electrical and thermal conductivity: it also gives malleability and ductility to the metal, since the cations are mobilized without generating a breakage.
Metallic bonds allow the creation of very solid structures.
sea of electrons
To explain the characteristics of metals, scientists Paul Karl Ludwig Drude and Hendrik Antoon Lorentz proposed the electron sea model at the end of the 19th century. This indicates that metal atoms have a reduced number of electrons in their last shell and easily lose valence electrons, transforming into positive ions that form a network . This process gives rise to a sea or cloud of electrons that moves through the aforementioned network.
This is also known as the electronic gas theory , since as the outer electrons bind to the atoms in a light way, they form a kind of gas , which is called electronic gas , electron sea or electronic cloud , which in fact is the metallic bond itself.
The characteristics of the metallic bond
In order to explain the characteristics of the metallic bond, the first step was to take as reference a model in which the valence electrons could move freely within the crystal lattice. In this way, it must be considered that the metallic lattice is formed by a series of valence electrons and positive ions (the nuclei covered with electrons); This opposes the idea that the lattices consisted of neutral atoms.
In other words, metallic elements are made up of regularly distributed metal cations that are held together thanks to the binding action of the electronic gas in which they are immersed.
Thanks to this model it is possible to explain effectively and with a reduced level of complexity the thermal and electrical conductivity of metals. Given the evident mobility of electrons in a metallic bond, they can move towards the positive electrode from the negative one if we subject the metal to an electrical potential difference.
Another peculiarity of mobile electrons is that they can conduct heat, carrying kinetic energy (which is generated due to their movement) through the crystal. Metals are malleable and ductile because the delocalized bond does not have a single orientation but can extend in any direction, unlike solids with covalent networks. When the crystal undergoes deformation, the metallic bonds adapt and the resulting energy is not far from the original.