How can metals be so strong, when metallic bonds are generally weaker than ionic or covalent bonds?

Question

How can metals be so strong, when metallic bonds are generally weaker than ionic or covalent bonds?

In: 16

Answer 1

Where are you getting the idea that metallic bonds are weak? Some are, and some aren’t; metallic bonds occupy a very wide range of bond energies from “weaker than even most covalent bonds” (in mercury) to “stronger than most ionic bonds” (in tungsten), with the strength of the bond roughly corresponding to the boiling point of the metal.

In general, metallic bonds are strongest in the middle of the d block of the periodic table and weaker towards the edges, and those middle bonds are quite strong indeed.