Simple Molecular Solids

• An example of simple molecular solid is iodine.

• At room conditions, iodine is a dark shinny solid that
sublimes when heated. It exists in the form of diatomic
molecules with strong covalent bond holding the individual
atoms together in the I2molecule.

• Solid iodine has a face-centred cubic structure

• The forces that hold the individual molecules in the
solid lattice are the weak van der Waals forces. As a
result, iodine has relatively low melting point (114 ℃)
and low boiling point (184 ℃) compared to ionic
solids.
Giant Molecular Solids (a.k.a. Giant Covalent Network Structures)

• Giant molecular solids are covalent compounds but with exceptionally high melting
and boiling points.
• The particles in giant covalent solids are atoms and not simple molecules.
• Two examples of giant molecular solids are graphite and diamond.
• Graphite and diamond are two allotropes of carbon. Their structures consist entirely of
carbon atoms joined by strong covalent bonds in a giant covalent network.

graphite diamond
 Due to the presence of strong covalent bonds in the solid
structure, graphite and diamond have very high melting and
boiling points.

Another example of giant molecular solid is silicon dioxide, SiO2 The strong covalent bonds between the atoms is
Sand is an impure form of silicon dioxide. responsible for the high melting point of SiO2
(1600oC)
Metallic Solids
• In metals, the atoms are visualised as spheres of identical size.
• In the solid stage, the atoms are packed as close to one another aspossible.
• The two most common lattice structures of metals are the face- centred cubic (FCC) and hexagonal close-
packed (HCP) structures.3
• An example of the face-centred cubic structure (which is also called the cubic close-packed structure) is
copper.

• Each copper atom is in contact with 12 other copper atoms. It has a coordination number of 12.
• Due to the strong metallic bonds in the structure, copper is hard, with a high melting point and boiling
point and is a good electrical conductor.
Allotropy
Some elements can exist in more than one form due to the different arrangements of the atoms.
These elements are said to exhibit allotropy.
The different forms of the same substances are called allotropes.
One example is carbon. (Other elements are oxygen, tin and phosphorus.)
The three major allotropes of carbon are graphite, diamond and fullerene.

Graphite
In graphite, each carbon atom undergoes sp² hybridisation and is covalently bonded to three other carbon atoms to form
flat sheets of hexagonal rings.
The carbon-carbon bond angles in the layers are 120°.
The hexagonal rings are arranged in layers with weak van der Waals forces between the layers.

 Used as lubricant because it is soft and slippery (weak van der Waals forces allow
the layer to slide over one another.)
 high melting point of graphite (3650 ℃).
 Relatively low density (2.25 g cm) due to the open structure.
 Good conductor of electricity (as each carbon atom in graphite uses only three of
its valence shell electrons to form covalent bond,there is a 'free electron’ per
carbon atom which delocalises over the whole structure. )
 Making of ‘pencil lead’ which is mixture of graphite and clay.
 Diamond
Each carbon atom undergoes sp3 hybridisation and is bonded covalently to four other carbon atoms located at the apex of a
tetrahedron to form a giant network of a six-member ring. The carbon-carbon bond angles are 109.5°.
 high melting point of diamond (3550℃) (The strong covalent bonds (bond length=0.154 nm) in the network)
 higher density(3.50g cm-3) than graphite ( The close-packed structure )
 melting point of diamond (3550℃) is lower than that of graphite(3650 oC) because its carbon-carbon bonds are weaker
 Diamond is a non-conductor. All the valence electrons in diamond are involved in the formationof covalent bonds. There
are no free electrons available.
 hardest element on Earth. It is used to make drills 钻
 high refractive index of diamond (bright and shiny suitable material for ornaments. Eg . jewellery)

*Graphite and diamond can co-exist at room conditions. However,

graphite is the stable allotrope(This type of allotropy is called monotropy.)

Monotropy – All the allotropes can co-exist at room

conditions. However only one of them is stable.
Differences between GRAPHITE and DIAMOND
Fullerene
another allotrope of carbon, was discovered in 1985.
It has a molecular formula of C60 and a molar mass of 720 g mol-1.
Unlike graphite and diamond, fullerene is spherical.
The carbon atoms are joined by covalent bonds as shown below:

All the carbon atoms in fullerene undergo sp2 hybridisation.

Fullerene is used to make :
o Superconductors
o micro-ball bearings
o as catalysts in some chemical reactions
o drug delivery systems

To date, other fullerene molecules with molecular formulae

of C70 and C82 and C90 are also known.