Atoms

• Atoms make up the chemical elements. Each chemical element

has nearly identical atoms. An atom is composed of three
different particles:

•  Protons -- positively charged, reside in the center of the atom

called the nucleus.

•  Electrons -- negatively charged, orbit in a cloud around nucleus.

•  Neutrons -- no charge, reside  in the nucleus.

• In a neutrally charged atom, each element has the
same number of protons and the same number of
electrons.

• Number of protons = Number of electrons.

• Number of protons = atomic number.

• Number of protons + Number of neutrons = atomic

weight.
• Isotopes  are  atoms of the same element with differing
numbers of neutrons. i.e. the number of neutrons may vary
within atoms of the same element. Some isotopes are
unstable which results in radioactivity.

• It is the electrons in the atoms that are responsible for the

chemical properties of atoms.  The electronic configuration
determines the types of atoms that can be bound to one
another, the strength of the bonds, and the types of bonds. 
 Bonding in Ceramics
• All materials are made up of atoms. These atoms are held together by
forces called interatomic bonds – act like springs, linking each atoms to its
neightbour.

• The properties of any solids and the way its atoms are arranged are
determined primarily by the nature and directionality of the interatomic
bonds holding the solid together.
eg: Graphite and diamond

• 2 types of bonds:
i) Primary bonds – ionic, covalent or metallic
ii) Secondary bonds – van der Waals and hydrogen bonds.
• In both cases the attractive electrostatic interaction between the positive
charges of the nuclei and the negative charges of the electrons that is
responsible for the cohesion of solids.
• Ceramics can be classified as being either ionically or covalently bonded.
• Most ceramics have ionic bonding which leads
to very high strength. These ceramics are
typically a combination of a metal and a non-
metal, e.g. sodium chloride NaCl or alumina
Al2O3.
• Some ceramics, however, have covalent
bonding. These are either a combination of
two non-metals, e.g. silica SiO2, or pure
elements, e.g. diamond C.
 Electrons in Atoms
• Quantum mechanics: A set
of principles and laws that
govern systems of atomic
and subatomic entities.
• Quantum mechanical
concepts are for
understanding the behaviour
of electrons in atoms and
crystalline solids.
• Early growth of quantum
mechanics was the
simplified Bohr atomic
model.
• The electrons can be considered to sit in energy levels or shells,
dictated by the quantum energy of each electron (the electrons orbit
the atoms nucleus in different sized orbits, with some closer to the
nucleus and some further away)
• As the atomic number of the atom increase, the number of electrons
in orbit around the nucleus is also increase. These electrons usually fill
the lower shells (orbits) first. This is because the inner shells are of
lower energy than the outer ones.
• In quantum mechanical principle: electrons are permited to have only
specific value of energy.
• Electron can make a quantum jump to an allowed higher energy ( with
absorption of energy) or to lower energy ( with emission of energy).
• allowed electron energies are associated with energy levels or states.
• Free electron has zero energy.
• Electrons orbit around the nucleus in different shells, labeled
from the innermost shell as K, L, M, N, etc.  Each shell can
have a certain number of electrons. The K-shell can have 2
Electrons, the L-shell, 8, the M-shell 18, N-shell 32.
• Each shell is associated with a principal quantum number, n,
where nK = 1, nL = 2, nM = 3, nN = 4, etc.
• The number of electrons in each shell is controlled by this
principal quantum number by the following relationship:
# electrons = 2n2  
• Thus, the K-shell can contain 2 electrons, the L-shell, 8
electrons, the M-shell, 18 electrons, and the N-shell, 32
electrons.
•An atom is electronically stable when its outermost shell is full.
•for example, Neon has 2 K shell electrons and 8 L shell electrons,
giving it a stable configuration.
•An atom having less than a complete outermost shell has an unstable
electronic configuration.
•The urge for atoms to have a stable electron configuration, is the
primary driving force for atoms bonding together to form compounds.
• Electrons in the outermost shell are known as the valence
electrons. It is these electrons that are most often involved in
bonding.
• Electrons can move up and down between shells, be added to
an atom, and also be removed entirely from an atom.
• When one or more electrons are added or removed from an
atom what remains is known as an ion.
*Normally the electronic charges on an atom are balanced,
with the negative electrons balancing the positive protons.
• When an electron is removed the remaining ion will have a
positive charge. When one is added the charge on the ion will
be negative.
 Number of electrons
Principle Shell subshells Number of Per Per shell
quantun designation states subshell
number, n

1 K s 1 2 2

2 L s 1 2 8
p 3 6

3 M 1 2
s 3 6 18
p 5 10
d
4 N 1 2
s 3 6
p 5 10 32
d 7 14
f

Number of available electron states in some of the

electron shells and subshells
Schematic representation of the relative energies of the
electrons for the various shell and subshell
• Electron states is value of energy that are permited for
electrons.
• Another quantum mechanical concept is Pauli exclusion
principle:
“ Each electron state can hold no more than two electrons”
“no 2 electrons in an atom can have the same quantum
numbers, thus each of the sub-orbitals can have a maximum
of 2 electrons, and each of these will have opposite values of
the spin quantum number “
• s, p, d, f subshell may each accomodates 2, 6, 10, 14
respectively.
• When all the electrons occupy the lowest possible energies,
an atom is said to be in its ground state.
List of the expected electron configuration for
some of the common elements
Mnemonic for
predicting the filling
order of the atomic
orbital
• This periodic filling of shells and sub-shells forms the basis of
the periodic table of the elements. 
• Elements arrayed in a given column and group have similar
configurations of outer shell electrons (called valence
electrons) as well as chemical and physical properties.  
• The rows in the table, labeled 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, & 7, correspond
to the principal quantum number ( called periods).