METALS AND ITS APPLICATIONS Why do metals have high melting points?

Importance of Metal The properties of metals are related to their structure.

Metals are a highly valuable group of materials, Metals often have high melting points and boiling
used for hundreds of products and produced in points. Gold, for example, has a melting point of
huge quantities. 1064 °C and a boiling point of 2807 °C.
This property is due to the strong attraction
Metals have played a vital role in human between the positively-charged metal ions and the
development. Periods of civilization are even sea of electrons.
classified by the metals that were used during In metal extraction and other industrial processes,
those times, such as the Iron Age furnaces often run continuously to maintain the
high temperatures needed to work with molten
Metals are used as catalysts to speed up
metals.
reactions..
How do metals conduct heat and electricity?
What is the structure of metals?
For example, when a metal is heated, the
The atoms in a pure metal are in tightly-packed
delocalized electrons gain kinetic energy.
layers, which form a regular lattice structure.
Delocalized electrons in metallic bonding allow
The outer electrons of the metal atoms separate
metals to conduct heat and electricity.
from the atoms and create a ‘sea of electrons’.
These electrons then move faster and so transfer
These electrons are delocalized and so are free to
the gained energy throughout the metal.
move through the whole structure.
This makes heat transfer in metals very efficient.
The metal atoms become positively charged ions
and are attracted to the sea of electrons. This Delocalized electrons also conduct electricity
attraction is called metallic bonding. through metals in a similar way.
SEA OF ELECTRONS Why are metals strong?

Metals are usually strong, not brittle. When a metal

is hit, the layers of metal ions are able to slide over
each other, and so the structure does not shatter.

The metallic bonds do not break because the

delocalized electrons are free to move throughout
the structure.
METAL IONS
This also explains why metals are malleable (easy
General Properties of Metal to shape) and ductile (can be drawn into wires).
solid at room tempera What is corrosion?
high melting point
good conductors of electricity and heat Corrosion is the gradual destruction of a metal
ductile: they can be drawn into wires due to reactions with other chemicals in its
malleable: they can be shaped environment.
strong Over time, corrosion changes the appearance of
dense the metal as it breaks down and it becomes
weaker.
Corrosion can seriously damage metallic objects
and structures.
 Coating the surface of a metal with paint and IRON + OXYGEN + WATER = HYDRATED
certain chemicals can protect it from corrosion. ORIN OXIDE
What happens if the protective coating becomes
damaged? Where do metals come from?

Do all metals corrode? Metals can be found in the Earth’s crust

combined with other elements or uncombined as
Metals behave differently when exposed to the pure substances.
environment. Some unreactive metals, like gold, silver and
Gold is an unreactive metal and does not corrode copper, can be found uncombined as elements
easily. Metals that are found in a pure form are said to
In many cultures, gold is considered a precious occur ‘native’.
metal and is used to make sacred and decorative Most metals are actually found combined with
objects. other elements, as compounds in ores. These
Items made from gold can survive for thousands of metals must be extracted from their ores before
years and have even been found in good condition they can be made useful.
underwater. Highly reactive metals, such as titanium, require
In general, objects made from metals that corrode complicated extraction. This can increase the
easily do not survive for as long. cost of the pure metal

Why doesn’t aluminium corrode? How does reactivity affect extraction?

Aluminium is a very reactive metal. However, it The reactivity of a metal determines how it is
does not corrode in the presence of oxygen. Why is extracted.
this?
How does reactivity affect extraction?
oxygen in the
The reactivity of a metal determines how it is
atmosphere
extracted.
coating of
Potassium
oxygen atoms
Sodium
aluminium Calcium 1
atoms magnesium
aluminium
The outer aluminium atoms react with oxygen in the (carbon)
atmosphere. This forms a thin layer of aluminium zinc
oxide on the metal’s surface, which protects the iron 2
metal from corrosion. lead
(hydrogen)
Rusting is the specific name given to the corrosion
copper
of iron.
silver 3
It is a chemical reaction between iron, oxygen and
gold
water.
platinum
The chemical name for rust is hydrated iron oxide.
Rust can form on cars and buildings, making them
1. Metals above carbon in the reactivity series must be
unsafe. It is an expensive problem.
extracted using electrolysis. Electrolysis can also be
Salt can increase the rate of rusting. This iron bolt is
used to purify copper.
on a seaside structure and is nearly completely
2. Metals below carbon can be extracted from their
corroded.
ores by reduction using carbon, coke or charcoal.
What is the word equation for the formation of rust?
3. Platinum, gold, silver and copper can occur native Brass: an alloy of copper and zinc. It does not
and do not need to be extracted. 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
How is carbon used to extract metals?
boards.
Metals that is less reactive than carbon can be Amalgam: an alloy of mercury and silver or tin.
extracted from their ores by burning with carbon. It is used for dental fillings because it can be
Iron is extracted by this method in a blast furnace. shaped when warm and resists corrosion.
The iron ore is heated with carbon-rich coke at very
Is gold an alloy?
high temperatures
The iron collected from a blast furnace is only 96% Although pure gold is sometimes used in
pure. electronics, gold jewellery is always a mixture of
Usually, this product will be treated further because gold and other metals.
the impurities make iron brittle. Pure gold is actually quite soft. Adding small
amounts of other metals makes the gold hard
What is electrolysis?
enough to use in jewellery.
Metals that are more reactive than carbon are Alloying gold with different metals also affects its
extracted using electrolysis. colour
This process uses an electrical current to extract the The familiar yellow gold is an alloy of gold with
metal. copper and silver. Adding more copper than silver
Aluminium is extracted from its ore, bauxite, using gives redder shades.
this method. White gold is an alloy of gold with nickel,
Electrolysis is also used to further purify metals, platinum or palladium. Around 12% of people may
such as copper, after extraction with carbon. be allergic to the nickel in white gold.
Electrolysis is more expensive than using a blast
What is steel?
furnace, and this increases the price of the metal.
Steel is an alloy of iron and other elements,
What is an alloy?
including carbon, nickel and chromium.
An alloy is a mixture of a metal with at least one Steel is stronger than pure iron and can be used for
other element. everything from sauce pans…
Steel is a common example of an alloy. It contains
Why is steel stronger than iron?
iron mixed with carbon and other elements.
Adding other elements to a metal changes its The atoms in pure iron are arranged in densely-
structure and so changes its properties. packed layers. These layers can slide over each
The final alloy may have very different properties other. This makes pure iron a very soft material.
to the original metal. The atoms of other elements are different sizes.
By changing the amount of each element in an When other elements are added to iron, their atoms
alloy, material scientists can custom-make alloys to distort the regular structure of the iron atoms.
fit a given job. It is more difficult for the layers of iron atoms in
steel to slide over each other and so this alloy is
Examples of alloys
stronger than pure iron.
Bronze, an alloy of copper and tin, was commonly
What types of steel are there?
used by civilizations before iron extraction methods
were developed. Steel can contain up to 2% carbon.
Varying the amount of carbon gives steel
Other well-known alloys include
different properties. For example, higher carbon
content makes 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 ca
titanium steel – an alloy of iron and titanium

What’s so clever about smart alloys?

A smart material can change one or more of its

physical characteristics under the influence of an
external stim
Shape memory alloy is a type of smart material
made from metals that returns to its original
shape after being deformed.
Nitinol is a type of shape memory alloy made
from nickel and titanium
This material can be used to make a pair of
glasses that ‘remembers’ its shape and does not
break when crushed.
Nitinol has also been used to hold badly broken
bones in place while they heal.

Can metals be recycled?

Metals are easy to recycle and do not change

their properties

What are the benefits of recycling metals?

SAVES ENERGY Recycling aluminium uses

95% less energy than
extracting it from its ores.

USES FEWER Recycling one car saves over

RESOURCES 1,000 kg of iron ore and over
600 kg of coal.

REDUCES WASTE 14 million fewer dustbins

would be filled per year by
recycling aluminium in the
UK

LESS DAMAGE TO Recycling reduces the need to

ENVIRONMENT mine sensitive areas for new
ores.

PROFITABLE Recycled copper can be

resold for up to 90% of what
it was worth when new.