INTRODUCTION TO MATERIAL SCIENCE: TEC 111 2020/2021

ACADEMIC
YEAR

Lecture Seven

Scheduled: Week of 9th November 2020

Learning outcomes
1. Explain how bond type influence material properties
2. Explain how crystalline and non-crystalline structures influence material properties

Influence of Bond Type on Properties of Materials

Introduction

▪ The final properties of a material depend on the type of bonding existing in the
material

▪ In addition, the manner in which atoms/molecules are arranged/packed can be used

to explain certain material properties

▪ For example, due to the presence of free electrons, metals are good conductors of
both electricity and heat

▪ In addition, covalently bonded materials are electrical and thermal insulators, due to
the absence of free electrons

▪ We look at examples of properties of materials and how they depend on the type of
bond and whether crystalline or no-crystalline structure

1. DENSITY

▪ The density of a substance depends on the way the atoms are arranged/packed in the
makeup of the bulk material

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 INTRODUCTION TO MATERIAL SCIENCE: TEC 111 2020/2021
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▪ In crystalline substances, atoms or molecules are closely packed together in a

regular, crystalline array resulting in low amount of void space

▪ Void space refers to the empty space between the atoms or molecules that is
normally filled with air

▪ This leads to high density in crystalline substances (metals & ceramics)

▪ In amorphous structures, the atoms or molecules are not packed in a regular and
symmetrical pattern and the amount of void space is great/large thus amorphous
substances have lower density (polymers & glasses)

▪ Metals and ceramics have density ranging from 2000 – 16000 Kg/m3

▪ The range of density for Polymers is about 900 – 3000 Kg/m3

2. STABILITY AND MELTING POINT

▪ The stability of a substance is related to bond strength

▪ One indicator of bond strength and stability is the melting point (melting
temperature) of a substance

▪ When a substance is heated, the absorption of heat energy causes an increase in the
vibrational amplitudes of the atoms

▪ A point will be reached when the vibrational energy is sufficient to overcome the
interatomic bonding energy and the atoms become mobile, in other words the
substance melts

▪ During bonding e.g. for sodium and chlorine atoms, the Na+ and Cl- ions will be
strongly attracted to one another (positive and negative ions)
▪ There exists an attraction force between the ions

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 INTRODUCTION TO MATERIAL SCIENCE: TEC 111 2020/2021
ACADEMIC
YEAR

▪ The Attraction Force, F is given by:

𝑞2
𝐹= 1
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟 2

Where:

q = charge on each ion,

𝜀0 = permittivity of a vacuum

r = separation distance between the ions

▪ This attraction force is the one that maintains the bond between the ions
▪ There is also a gravitational attraction force between the nuclear masses of the two ions
▪ As the attraction of ions occurs, the ions continue moving closer together and their
outer electron shell begins to overlap resulting to a STRONG FORCE OF
REPULSION between these shells (shells consist of negatively charged electrons)
▪ At this state, there exists both attraction and repulsion forces
▪ A point is reached when stability is realized, that is, there exists a stable separation
distance between the ions
▪ This occurs when the force of ATTRACTION equals the force of REPULSION
▪ At this state, there exists a corresponding POTENTIAL ENERGY of the ions in
relation to their separation distance
▪ The Potential Energy (P.E) is given by the Mie Equation below:
𝐴 𝐵
𝑃. 𝐸 = − + 2
𝑟𝑚 𝑟𝑛

Where:
▪ A is a function of ionic charge, B is a function of atomic number and atomic mass
number, m and n depend on the type of bond, e.g. for ionic bonding, n = 9

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 INTRODUCTION TO MATERIAL SCIENCE: TEC 111 2020/2021
ACADEMIC
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▪ The first term in equation 2 is the Potential Energy due to attraction while the second
term is the Potential Energy due to repulsion
▪ This is a general equation applicable to all types of bonding
▪ From this stable position, an input of energy will be necessary to move the ions either
closer to one another or further apart
▪ Thus, high attraction force means stronger bonds
▪ Stronger bonds correspond to stable bonds (stable substance)
▪ A strong bond means a lot of heat is required to break the bond, thus high melting
temperature (melting point)
Notable observations include:
▪ The force of attraction between Mg2+ and O2- ions is much greater than between Na+
and Cl- ions by virtue of increased ionic charge
▪ The bonding in magnesium oxide is much stronger than in sodium chloride
▪ The melting point of MgO is about 2800oC while that of NaCl is about 800oC
▪ The close packing of atoms in metals (crystalline structure) results in strong bonds, thus
high melting point
▪ For metals, melting point tends to increase as the number of valence electrons increase

Group Element Valence Melting Point (oC)

I Na 1 98
II Mg 2 649
III Al 3 660

▪ Another trend is that melting point tends to decrease as atomic number increases for
metals within the same group in the periodic table

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 INTRODUCTION TO MATERIAL SCIENCE: TEC 111 2020/2021
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Group Element Atomic Number (Z) Melting Point (oC)

I Li 3 180
I Na 11 98
I K 19 64

▪ In polymers, although bonding WITHIN molecules is covalent, there exists weak Van
der Waal bonds (secondary bonds) BETWEEN molecules and it is these secondary
bonds that influence the melting temperature
▪ Polymers have low M.P. (100 – 400oC)
▪ In addition, the M.P. of molecular compounds is influenced by molecular weight and
M.P. increases as molecular weight increases (Van der Waal forces on a large scale)

3. ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES

▪ In ionic and covalent bonding, the valency electrons are localised in orbitals around one
or a pair of atoms

▪ In metallic bond, the valence electrons are not localised and a metal crystal can be
likened to an array of positive ions permeated by a cloud of electrons

▪ In an electric field, the electron gas will move preferentially in one direction, thus
constituting an electric current

▪ Metals conduct electricity and heat

▪ Ionic and covalent solids are not conductive and are insulators or dielectrics because
their valence electrons are localized

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▪ However, the ions in ionic crystals become mobile when the substance is dissolved in a
solvent or is melted and these mobile ions can move preferentially when influenced by
an electric field

▪ This ionic conduction is termed as electrolytic conduction and the solution or molten
salt is termed an electrolyte

4. STIFFNESS

▪ Stiffness is a mechanical property of a material

▪ We shall look at it in detail later in this course

▪ The modulus of elasticity, E or Young’s modulus is a measure of the stiffness of a

material

▪ It is defined as the ratio of stress applied to the elastic strain produced

▪ In crystalline structure such as metals, the strain produced per unit stress is small and so
the value of E is high implying, they are stiffer, while polymers have low E (low
stiffness) because the strain produced per unit stress is high

▪ This can be explained as follows:

▪ Bonds between atoms can be regarded as having the properties of tiny springs and
when an external force is applied, these springs will extend or compress depending on
the type of force

▪ For example, tensile force tends to extend a material while compression force tends to
shorten a material

▪ Figure 1 shows the action of a tensile force on a material

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 INTRODUCTION TO MATERIAL SCIENCE: TEC 111 2020/2021
ACADEMIC
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Figure 1: Action of tensile force acting on Atoms (represented by circles). The atoms are
connected by bonds (springs)

References:
[1] John Vernon, J. (1992). Introduction to engineering materials. (3rd edn.). London: Macmillan Press
Ltd.
[2] Callister, W. D. & Rethwisch, D.G. (2007). Materials Science and Engineering – An Introduction. (7th
edn.). New York: John Wiley and Sons.

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