What are METALS?

Metals are substances that form naturally below

the surface of the Earth. Most metals are
lustrous or shiny. Metals are inorganic, which
means they are made of substances that were
never alive. Metals are
1.malleable— can be hammered or pressed
permanently out of shape without breaking or
cracking
2.fusible- able to be fused or melted.
3.ductile- able to be drawn out into a thin wire.
▶ Around 90 of the 118 elements in the periodic table are
metals; the others are non-metals or metalloids
▶ Some elements appear in both metallic and non-
metallic forms.
Structure and Bonding of Metals
▶ The atoms of metallic substances are
typically arranged in one of three
common crystal structures;

1.Body-centered cubic (bcc)- each atom is

positioned at the center of a cube of eight
others.
2.Face-centered cubic (fcc)- each atom is
surrounded by twelve others, but the
stacking of the layers differs.
3.Hexagonal close-packed (hcp)- each atom is
surrounded by twelve others, but the stacking
of the layers differs.
▶ Metals adopt different structures depending
on the temperature.
CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
 Properties of Metals
Chemical
▶ Metals are usually inclined to form cations through
electron loss, reacting with oxygen in the air to form oxides
over various timescales;

1. Iron rusts over years. 4 Na + O2 → 2 Na2O (sodiumoxide)

2. Potassium burns in seconds. 2 Ca + O2 → 2 CaO (calcium oxide)
4Al + 3 O2 → 2 Al2O3 (aluminium oxide).
▶ Metals such as iron, copper, zinc, and nickel- slower to
oxidize because they form a passivating layer of oxide that
protects the interior.
▶ Palladium, platinum and gold- do not react with the
atmosphere at all.
▶ Some metals form a barrier layer of oxide on
their surface which cannot be penetrated by
further oxygen molecules and thus retain their
shiny appearance and good conductivity for
many decades (like aluminium, magnesium,
some steels, and titanium).
Physical
▶Metals;
1.high electrical conductivity
2.high thermal conductivity
3.high density
▶ Typically metals are malleable and
ductile, deforming under stress without
cleaving.
▶ In terms of optical properties, metals are shiny
and lustrous(shining and soft)
▶ Sheets of metal beyond a few micrometres in
thickness appear opaque, but gold leaf transmits
green light.
▶ The high density of most metals is due
to the tightly packed crystal lattice of the
metallic structure
Electrical
▶ The electrical and thermal conductivities of
metals originate from the fact that their
outer electrons are delocalized.
▶ The atomic structure of a metal as
a collection of atoms embedded in a sea
of highly mobile electrons.

Mechanical
▶Mechanical properties of metals include
ductility, i.e. their capacity for plastic
deformation.
 Metallic Materials
▶Metallic materials are broadly of two
kinds – ferrous and non-ferrous
materials.
▶ This classification is primarily
based on tonnage of materials used
all around the world.
▶ Ferrous materials are those in
which iron (Fe) is the principle
constituent.
▶ All other materials are
categorized as non-ferrous
materials.
▶
Ferrous Metals
Ferrous materials are produced in larger quantities than
any other metallic material.
▶ Three factors account for it:
(a) availability of abundant raw materials combined
with economical extraction
(a) ease of forming
(b) versatile mechanical and physical properties.
▶ One main drawback of ferrous alloys-
environmental degradation i.e. poor corrosion resistance.
▶Other disadvantages include:
1. relatively high density
2. comparatively low electrical and thermal conductivities
▶Principle element is iron, cast iron, steel, wrought iron.
▶Metals come from ore, "minerals" ore consists of metal and
gangue (valueless extra)
 What is Metal Alloy??
▶ An alloy is a combination of metals or of a metal and another
element.
▶ An alloy may be a solid solution of metal elements (a
single phase) or a mixture of metallic phases (two or
more solutions).
▶Intermetallic compounds are alloys with a defined
stoichiometry and crystal structure.

▶The alloy constituents are usually measured by

mass percentage for practical applications,

▶They can be further classified as

homogeneous (consisting of a single
phase), or heterogeneous (consisting of
two or more phases) or intermetallic.
The mechanical properties of alloys
will often be quite different from
those of its individual constituents.

A metal that is normally very soft

(malleable)-such as aluminium, can be
altered by alloying it with another soft
metal, such as copper.

Both metals are very soft and ductile

aluminium alloy will have much

greater strength.
Steel-common alloys in modern use.
Due to its very- high strength, its
ability to be greatly altered by heat
treatment.

By adding chromium to steel, its resistance to

Corrosion can be enhanced, creating stainless
steel,

▶By adding silicon to steel-it can alter

its electrical characteristics, producing
silicon steel.
Ordered metallic alloy
What types of alloys are there?
Alloys have been used for thousands of years. Bronze,
an alloy of copper and tin, was commonly used by
civilizations before iron extraction methods were
developed.
Other well-known alloys include:
 brass: an alloy of copper and zinc.
It does not tarnish and is used for door
knobs, buttons and musical instruments.
 solder: an alloy of zinc and lead. It
is used in electronics to attach
components to circuit boards.
 amalgam: an alloy of mercury and
silver or tin. It is used for dental fillings
because it can be shaped when warm
and resists corrosion.
Is gold an alloy?
Although pure gold is sometimes used in electronics, gold
jewellery is always a mixture of gold and other metals.
Pure gold is actually quite soft. Adding small amounts of
other metals makes the gold hard enough to use in jewellery.
Alloying gold with different metals also affects its colour.
The familiar yellow gold is an
alloy of gold with copper and
silver. Adding more copper than
silver gives redder shades.
White gold is an alloy of gold
with nickel, platinum or
palladium. Around 12% of
people may be allergic to
the nickel in white gold.
When is a copper coin not a copper coin?
When it is a copper-coated alloy!
Copper coins used to be made from
pure copper but most ‘copper’ coins
used around the world are now made
from copper alloys.
Previously, as the value of
copper increased, the metal
used to make the coin
became worth more than the
actual coins. A melted-
down, pure copper coin
could have been sold for
more than the face value of
the coin!
 What is steel?
Steel is an
alloy of iron and other elements, including
carbon, nickel and chromium.
Steel is stronger than pure iron and can be used for
everything from sauce pans…
…to suspension bridges!
Why is steel stronger than iron?
The atoms in pure iron are
arranged in densely-packed
layers. These layers can slide
over each other. This makes
pure iron a very soft material.

The atoms of other elements

are different sizes. When
other elements are added to
iron, their atoms distort the
regular structure of the iron
atoms.
It is more difficult for the
layers of iron atoms in
steel to slide over each
other and so this alloy is
stronger than pure iron.
 What types of steel are there?
Steel can contain up to 2% carbon.

Varying the amount of carbon gives

steel different properties. For
example, a higher carbon content
makes a hard steel.
Different types of steel are classified
by how much carbon they contain.

 low carbon steel contains less than 0.25% carbon

 high carbon steel contains more than 0.5% carbon.
Two other important types of steel are:

stainless steel – an alloy of iron that contains at least

11% chromium and smaller amounts of nickel and carbon

titanium steel – an alloy of iron and titanium.

Using different types of steel
 TYPES OF ALLOY
Bronze and brass
▶Copper, however, was found worldwide, along with silver,
gold, and platinum, which were also used to make tools,
jewelry, and other objects.

▶BRONZE- a combination of copper (metal) and tin (metal).

▶BRASS- a mixture of copper (metal) and zinc (metal).

Amalgams
▶Mercury has been smelted from cinnabar
.
▶Mercury dissolves many metals, such as gold, silver, and tin,
to form amalgams (an alloy in a soft paste or liquid form at
ambient temperature).
▶The amalgam was applied as a paste and then heated until
the mercury vaporized, leaving the gold, silver, or tin behind.
▶ Mercury was often used in mining, to extract
precious metals like gold and silver from their ores.
Pewter
▶ The term pewter covers a variety
of alloys consisting primarily of tin.

▶ As a pure metal, tin is much too

soft to be used for any practical
purpose.

▶ To make jewellery, cutlery, or

other objects from tin, it was
usually alloyed with other metals to
increase its strength and hardness.
 Ferrous Metal- Steel

▶ Steel is an Iron - Carbon alloy which is cast from a molten mass

in a form which is malleable.
▶Carbon steel is steel with less than 1.5% carbon.
▶Alloy steel is steel which has properties controlled by elements
other than carbon.
▶Steel has the best structural properties of these materials.

▶Alloying additions are necessary for many reasons

including: improving properties, improving corrosion resistance.

▶Mechanical properties of steels are very sensitive to carbon St

▶
content.
▶Steels are basically three kinds:
1. Low Carbon Steels (% wt of C < 0.3)
2. Medium Carbon Steels (% wt of C < 0.6)
3. High Carbon Steel (% wt of C > 0.6)
 Low Carbon Steels

Carbon present in these alloys is limited, and

is not
enough to strengthen these materials by heat
treatment;

These materials are easily machinable and

weldable.

Typical applications of these alloys

include: structural shapes,tin cans, automobile
body components, buildings ,etc.
Medium Carbon Steels:
▶ Stronger than low carbon steels. Less ductile
than low carbon steels.

▶ These alloys can be heat treated to improve

their strength.

▶ Usual heat treatment cycle consists of

austenitizing, quenching and tempering at
suitable conditions to acquire required
hardness.
▶ Typical applications include: railway tracks &
wheels, gears, other machine parts which may
require good combination of strength and
toughness.
High Carbon Steels
▶ These are strongest and hardest of carbon steels.
▶These are heat treatable, and mostly used in hardened and
tempered conditions.
▶Very high wear resistance, and capable of holding sharp
edges.
▶Used for tool application such as knives, razors, blades, etc.

▶Stainless steels
▶ High resistance to corrosion i.e. they are rustless (stain-less).
▶ Steels are made highly corrosion resistant by addition of special
alloying elements, especially a minimum of 12% Cr along with Ni and
Mo.

▶ Typical applications include cutlery, razor blades,

surgical knives, etc.
 Non-Ferrous Metals
▶ Non-ferrous materials have specific advantages over ferrous materials.
▶ They can be fabricated with ease, high relatively low density, and high
electrical and thermal conductivities.
▶ There are few type of non-ferrous metals;

1. Aluminium alloys:
▶ characterized by low density, high thermal & electrical conductivities, and good
corrosion resistant characteristics.

▶ Limitation of these alloys is their low melting point (660 ºC), which restricts their
use at elevated temperatures.

▶Common applications of Al alloys include: beverage

cans, automotive parts, bus bodies, aircraft structures,
etc.
2.Copper alloys:
▶Bronze has been used for thousands of years.
▶It is actually an alloy of Cu and Sn..
▶One special feature of most of these alloys is their corrosion
resistant in diverse atmospheres.
▶Applications of Cu alloys include: costume jewelry, coins,
musical instruments, electronics, surgical and dental
instruments, etc.

3.Magnesium alloys:
▶ low density among all structural metals.
▶ Major alloying additions are: Al, Zn, Mn etc..

Common applications hand-held devices like

saws tools, automotive parts like steering
wheels, casing for laptops, cell phones etc.
Noble metals:
▶ These are eight all together: Ag,
Au, Pt, Pa, Rh, Ru, Ir and Os.
▶ All these possess some common
properties such as: expensive, soft
and ductile, oxidation resistant.
▶ Ag, Au and Pt are used extensively
in jewellery.
▶ Ag and Au are employed as dental
restoration materials.
▶ Pt is used in chemical reactions as
a catalyst and in thermo couples.