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Atomic
Bonding
Taken from the book The Science and
Engineering of Materials by D. Askeland, P.
Fulay, and W. Wright
 IN
BOFF
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KY TUN
FUN

Atomic
Bonding

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Types of Atomic Bonding
• Metallic Bond
• Covalent Bond
• Ionic Bond
• Van der Waals Bond

• The first three types of bonds are relatively

strong and are known as primary bonds
(relatively strong bonds between adjacent
atoms resulting from the transfer or sharing of
outer orbital electrons). The van der Waals
bonds are secondary bonds and originate from
a different mechanism and are relatively
weaker.

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Metallic Bond
The metallic elements have electropositive atoms that donate their valence electrons to form a “sea” of electrons surrounding
the atoms.

• Ductility refers to the ability of materials to be

stretched or bent permanently without breaking.
• Metals show good ductility since the metallic
bonds are non-directional.
• Many pure metals are good conductors of heat
and are effectively used in many heat transfer
applications.
• Intermetallic compound – a compound formed
by two or more metallic atoms.
• Malleable. Metals have the ability to withstand
hammering and can be made into thin sheets
known as foils.
• Luster. Metals have the quality of reflecting
light from their surface and can be polished

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Covalent Bond
bonds that are formed by sharing of valence electrons among two or more atoms.
• Covalent Bond has two classifications: the Polar
Covalent Bond which has unbalance share of
electrons and the Non-Polar Covalent Bond shell
which has an equally shared electrons.
• A non-polar covalent bond is usually 2 non-metals.
But to make sure if a covalent bond is polar or non-
polar, you must know the absolute change of
electronegativity of the two atoms bonding ( ). If
then it is a PCB, and if then it is a NPCB.
Examples:
C-H: 0.35; it is a non-polar CB
H-Br: ; it is a polar CB

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Ionic Bonding
the electrons of an atom is transferred to another atom of another element. Usually
the elements with ionic bond is a metal and a non-metal.

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Periodic Table

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van der Waals force
a weak ‘secondary’ bond and it arises as a result of fluctuating charges in an atom.
• If two electrical charges +q and -q are
separated by a distance d, the dipole moment is
defined as q x d. Atoms are electrically neutral.
Also, the centers of the positive charge
(nucleus) and negative charge (electron cloud)
coincide. Therefore, a neutral atom has no
dipole moment. When a neutral atom is
exposed to an internal or external electric field,
the atom may become polarized (i.e., the
centers of positive and negative charges
separate). This creates or induces a dipole
moment. In some molecules, the dipole moment
does not have to be induced—it exists by virtue
of the direction of bonds and the nature of
atoms. These molecules are known as
polarized molecules.

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van der Waals force
a weak ‘secondary’ bond and it arises as a result of fluctuating charges in an atom.
• Molecules or atoms in which there is either an
induced or permanent dipole moment attract
each other. The resulting force is known as the
van der Waals force. Van der Waals forces
between atoms and molecules have their origin
in interactions between dipoles that are induced
or in some cases interactions between
permanent dipoles that are present in certain
polar molecules. What is unique about these
forces is they are present in every material.

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van der Waals force
a weak ‘secondary’ bond and it arises as a result of fluctuating charges in an atom.
• There are three types of van der Waals
interactions, namely London forces, Keesom
forces, and Debye forces. If the interactions are
between two dipoles that are induced in atoms
or molecules, we refer to them as London
forces (e.g., carbon tetrachloride). When an
induced dipole (that is, a dipole that is induced
in what is otherwise a non-polar atom or
molecule) interacts with a molecule that has a
permanent dipole moment, we refer to this
interaction as a Debye interaction. An example
of Debye interaction would be forces between
water molecules and those of carbon
tetrachloride.

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van der Waals force
a weak ‘secondary’ bond and it arises as a result of fluctuating charges in an atom.
• If the interactions are between molecules that
are permanently polarized (e.g., water
molecules attracting other water molecules or
other polar molecules), we refer to these as
Keesom interactions. The attraction between
the positively charged regions of one water
molecule and the negatively charged regions of
a second water molecule provides an attractive
bond between the two water molecules.
• The bonding between molecules that have a
permanent dipole moment, known as the
Keesom force, is often referred to as a
hydrogen bond, where hydrogen atoms
represent one of the polarized regions.
• Note that van der Waals bonds are secondary
bonds, but the atoms within the molecule or
group of atoms are joined by strong covalent or
ionic bonds.

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Bravais
Lattices
Bravais Lattices

• There are only fourteen unique ways to arrange points in three dimensions. These unique three-
dimensional arrangements of lattice points are known as the Bravais lattices, named after Auguste
Bravais (1811–1863) who was an early French crystallographer.
• The fourteen Bravais lattices are grouped into seven crystal systems. The seven crystal systems are
known as cubic, tetragonal, orthorhombic, rhombohedral (also known as trigonal), hexagonal,
monoclinic, and triclinic.

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Cubic Crystal Structure

• For the cubic crystal system, we have simple

cubic (SC), face-centered cubic (FCC), and
body-centered cubic (BCC)

No. of atoms
Volume of Side of the Volume of
that define
the atom crystal the crystal
the crystal
SC 8 1 2r (2r)3
FCC 14 4 4r/ (4r/)3
BCC 9 2 4r/ (4r/)3

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Example

If the atomic radius for Pb= 0.175nm, find the volume of the unit cell.
Solution: v= 3 = (0.175 nm)3 = 0.1213 nm3

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Lattice Parameter and Interaxial angles

• The lattice parameters are the axial lengths or

dimensions of the unit cell and are denoted by
convention as a, b, and c. The angles between
the axial lengths, known as the interaxial
angles, are denoted by the Greek letters α, β,
and γ.

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Lattice Parameter and Interaxial angles

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Number of atoms per unit cell

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Density

• The theoretical density of a material can be

calculated using the properties of the crystal
structure. The general formula is

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Packing Factor

• The packing factor or atomic packing

fraction is the fraction of space occupied by
atoms, assuming that the atoms are hard
spheres. The general expression for the packing
factor is:

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