AES-402A - Materials Science & Engineering

02 - Atomic Structure and Inter-atomic Bonding

1.) Objectives - deleted to save space

2.) Fundamental Concepts

a.) Atoms are composed of electrons, protons, and neutrons.
b.) Atomic number ( Z ) - the number of protons = number of electrons = chemical identification of element
c.) Atomic mass or weight ( A ) - basically = mass of protons + mass of neutrons (mass of electron is too small
and don't contribute significantly to atomic mass). In reality, this is not that clean cut or straightforward.
The atomic weights as shown in the Periodic Table is actually a weighted average of all of the naturally.
occurring isotopes of an element relative to the mass of carbon-12. Further, the mass of the atomic
d.) The mass of the atomic nucleus of an element is less than the sum of the masses of its parts (protons and
neutrons). Nuclear physics tells us that this is because of mass defect/binding energy. The portion of this
sum that "disappeared" became the binding energy that holds the protons & neutrons together in the
nucleus.
e.) Isotopes - elements that have different atomic masses due variation in number of neutrons.example -
isotopes of Carbon : Carbon 12 (protons = 6, neutron = 6), Carbon 13 (protons = 6, neutrons = 7)
f.) Atomic mass unit (amu) = 1/12 of the atomic mass of Carbon 12.Used as basis for computing atomic
weights. * 1 amu/atom (or molecule) = 1 gram/mole,
g.) A mole is the amount of matter that has a mass in grams equal to the atomic mass in amu of the atoms.
Thus, a mole of carbon-12 has a mass of 12 grams. The number of atoms in a mole is called the Avogadro
number, Nav= 6.023 × 1023atoms (or molecules) per mole of element (or substance).
3.) Electrons in Atoms
a.) The forces in the atom are repulsions between electrons and attraction between electrons and protons. The
neutrons play no significant role. Thus, the atomic number (Z) is what characterizes the atom.
b.) Bohr's Atomic Model - electrons revolve around the nucleus in discrete orbitals, and their positions are more
or less well-defined. This has however some limitations since it cannot explain some electron phenomena.
c.) Wave-mechanical model - a refinement of the Bohr's model, wherein electron is considered to exhibit both
wavelike and particle-like characteristics and is no longer treated as a particle moving in discrete orbitals. The
electrons form a cloud around the neucleus. Electrons do not move in circular orbits, as picture in the past, but in
'fuzzy' orbits. We cannot tell how it moves, but only say what is the probability of finding it at some distance from
the nucleus. Position is describe by a probability distribution or an electron cloud. According to quantum
mechanics, only certain orbits are allowed (thus, the idea of a mini planetary system is not correct). The orbits
are identified by a principal quantum number n, which can be related to the size, n = 0 is the smallest; n = 1, 2 ..
are larger. (They are "quantized" or discrete, being specified by integers). The angular momentum l is quantized,
and so is the projection in a specific direction m. The structure of the atom is determined by the Pauli exclusion
principle, only two electrons can be placed in an orbit with a given n, l, m - one for each spin. (refer to chemistry
teextbook for details).
d.) Valence electrons are those that are occupying the outermost shell. These electrons are extremely important
since they are participating in bonding of atoms to form atomic or molecular aggregates. Atoms with completely
filled outer most shell have "stable electron configuration" such as the inert gases helium, argon, neon, and
krypton. Further, many physical & chemical properties of solids are based on these valence electrons.
4.) The Periodic Table
a.) Elements are categorized according to electronic configuration in the periodic table. Elements are situated with
increasing atomic number in 7 rows called PERIODS. The arrangement is such that all elements arrayed in
columns called GROUPS have similar valence electron structures as well as chemical and physical properties.
These properties change gradually and systematically, moving horizontally across each period.
b.) Group VIII - the rightmost group, are the inert gases, which have filled electron shells & stable electron
configuration.
c.) Groups VII A & VI A - have 1 & 2 electron deficients, respectively, from having stable structure. Group VII A are
termed halogens.
d.) Groups I A & II A are alkaline and alkali earth metals, having respectively 1 & 2 electrons in excess of

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 stablestructure.
e.) Groups III B to II B are termed transition metals which have partially filled d electron states and in some cases 1
or 2 electrons in the next higher energy shell. partially filled d electron states and in some cases 1 or 2 electrons
in the next higher energy shell.
f.) Groups III A, IV A, & V A display characteristics that are imtermediate between the metals and non-metals by
virtueof their valence electron structures.
e.) Most of the elements really come under metal classification. They are sometimes termed as electropositive
elements indicating that they are capable of giving up few of their valence electron to become positively
charged ions. Elements situated at the righthand side of the Table readily accepts electrons to form
negatively charged ions, or sometimes they share electrons with other atoms. They are termed electronegative
elements. As a general rule, electronegativety increases in moving from left to right; and from bottom to top.
f.) The ability to gain or lose electrons is termed electronegativity or electropositivity, an important factor in ionic
bonds.
5.) Bonding Forces and Energies
a.) The Coulomb forces are simple: attractive between electrons and nuclei, repulsive between electrons and between
nuclei. The force between atoms is given by a sum of all the individual forces, and the fact that the electrons are
located outside the atom and the nucleus in the center
b.) When two atoms come very close, the force between them is always repulsive, because the electrons stay
outside and the nuclei repel each other. Unless both atoms are ions of the same charge (e.g., both negative) the
forces between atoms is always attractive at large internuclear distances r. Since the force is repulsive at small r,
and attractive at small r, there is a distance at which the force is zero. This is the equilibrium distance at which
the atoms prefer to stay
c.) The interaction energy is the potential energy between the atoms. It is negative if the atoms are bound and
positive if they can move away from each other. The interaction energy is the integral of the force over the
separation distance, so these two quantities are directly related. The interaction energy is a minimum at the
equilibrium position. This value of the energy is called the bond energy, and is the energy needed to
separate completely to infinity (the work that needs to be done to overcome the attractive force.) The strongest
the bond energy, the hardest is to move the atoms, for instance the hardest it is to melt the solid, or to evaporate
its atoms

6.) Primary Interatomic Bonds

a.) Ionic Bonding
This is the bond when one of the atoms is negative (has an extra electron) and another is positive (has lost an
electron). Then there is a strong, direct Coulomb attraction. An example is NaCl. In the molecule, there are more
electrons around Cl, forming Cl - and less around Na, forming Na+. Ionic bonds are the strongest bonds. In real
solids, ionic bonding is usually combined with covalent bonding. In real solids, ionic bonding is usually combined
with covalent bonding.
b.) Covalent Bonding
In covalent bonding, electrons are shared between the molecules, to saturate the valency. The simplest example
is the H2 molecule, where the electrons spend more time in between the nuclei than outside, thus producing
bonding.
It is also possible to have interatomic bonds that are partially ionic and partially covalent.In fact very few
compounds exhibit pure ionic or pure covalent bonding. For compounds, the degree of either bond type depends
on the relative positions of the constituent atoms in the periodic table or the difference in their electronegativities.
The degree of ionic character between elements A & B maybe approximated by :

% ionic character = {1 – exp[-0.25 (XA– XB)2] } x 100

where : XAand XBare the electronegativities of the two atoms, A and B, forming the molecule.

c.) Metallic Bonding

In metals, the atoms are ionized, loosing some electrons from the valence band. Those electrons form a electron
sea, which binds the charged nuclei in place, in a similar way that the electrons in between the H atoms in the H2
molecule bind the protons.

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7.) Secondary Bonding (Van der Waals)
a.) Fluctuating Induced Dipole Bonds
Since the electrons may be on one side of the atom or the other, a dipole is formed: the + nucleus at the center,
and the electron outside. Since the electron moves, the dipole fluctuates. This fluctuation in atom A produces a
fluctuating electric field that is felt by the electrons of an adjacent atom, B. Atom B then polarizes so that its
outer electrons are on the side of the atom closest to the + side (or opposite to the – side) of the dipole in A. This
bond is called van der Waals bonding
b.) Polar Molecule-Induced Dipole Bonds
A polar molecule like H2O (H2 are partially +, O is partially – ), will induce a dipole in a nearby atom, leading to
bonding.
c.) Permanent Dipole Bonds
This is the case of the hydrogen bond in ice. The H end of the molecule is positively charged and can bond to the
negative side of another dipolar molecule, like the O side of the H2O dipole.
8.) Bonding - Summary

Types of Bonding in Solid Materials

 Metals : Metallic
 Ceramics : Ionic / Covalent
 Polymers : Covalent and Secondary
 Semiconductors : Covalent or
Covalent / Ionic

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