
The principle is similar to that of ionic bonds.īecause metals' conduction electrons move independently in a sea of negative charge, metals exhibit electrical conductivity, allowing charge to pass quickly through them, manifested as current. Therefore, metals often have high melting and boiling points. The electrons and positive ions in metals have a strong attractive force between them. The freedom of conduction electrons to migrate gives metal atoms, or layers of them, the capacity to slide past each other, giving rise to metals' typical characteristic phenomena of malleability and ductility.

Such electrons can stray easily from the atoms and become delocalized, forming a sea of electrons permeating a giant lattice of positive ions. Metal atoms contain few electrons in their valence shells relative to their periods or energy levels. Metallic bonds are non-polar, because in alloys there is little difference among the electronegativities of the atoms participating in the bonding interaction (and in pure elemental metals, none at all), and the electrons involved in the interaction are delocalized throughout the crystalline structure of the metal.
METAL ION BONDING FREE
Because it involves the sharing of free electrons among a lattice of positively-charged metal ions, metallic bonding may be compared to that within molten salts. Metallic bonding is the electrostatic attraction between delocalized electrons, called conduction electrons, and the metallic ions within metals.


The metallic bond accounts for many physical characteristics of metals, such as strength, malleability, ductility, conduction of heat and electricity, and lustre. Metallic bonds are found in metals like copper.
