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Chemistry · Glossary

What is Metallic bond?

Definition 5.17 University Chemistry — Year 1 · Chapter 5 — Crystals I: The Perfect Crystal and Metals

In the metallic bond, each atom of a metal gives its valence electrons to the whole crystal: the solid is a lattice of cations bathed in electrons that belong to no atom in particular and move freely through it. The bond is the attraction between the cations and this shared electron cloud; it is not directed.

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