Chemistry is an amazing science. So many incredible things can be found in seemingly ordinary things.

Everything material that surrounds us everywhere exists in several states of aggregation: gases, liquids and solids. Scientists have also identified the 4th - plasma. At a certain temperature, a substance can change from one state to another. For example, water: when heated above 100, from liquid form it turns into steam. At temperatures below 0, it transforms into the next aggregate structure - ice.

The entire material world contains a mass of identical particles that are interconnected. These smallest elements are strictly lined up in space and form the so-called spatial frame.

Definition

A crystal lattice is a special structure of a solid substance in which the particles stand in a geometrically strict order in space. In it you can find nodes - places where elements are located: atoms, ions and molecules and internodal space.

Solids, depending on the range of high and low temperatures, are crystalline or amorphous - they are characterized by the absence of a certain melting point. When exposed to elevated temperatures, they soften and gradually turn into liquid form. These types of substances include: resin, plasticine.

In this regard, it can be divided into several types:

• atomic;
• ionic;
• molecular;
• metal.

But at different temperatures, one substance can have different forms and exhibit diverse properties. This phenomenon is called allotropic modification.

Atomic type

In this type, the nodes contain atoms of a particular substance that are connected by covalent bonds. This type of bond is formed by a pair of electrons from two neighboring atoms. Thanks to this, they are connected evenly and in a strict order.

Substances with an atomic crystal lattice are characterized by the following properties: strength and high melting point. This type of bond is present in diamond, silicon and boron..

Ionic type

Oppositely charged ions are located at nodes that create an electromagnetic field that characterizes the physical properties of a substance. These will include: electrical conductivity, refractoriness, density and hardness. Table salt and potassium nitrate are characterized by the presence of an ionic crystal lattice.

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Molecular type

In nodes of this type there are ions connected to each other by van der Waals forces. Due to weak intermolecular bonds, substances such as ice, carbon dioxide and paraffin are characterized by plasticity, electrical and thermal conductivity.

Metal type

Its structure resembles a molecular one, but it still has stronger bonds. The difference between this type is that its nodes contain positively charged cations. Electrons that are in the interstitial space space, participate in the formation of the electric field. They are also called electric gas.

Simple metals and alloys are characterized by a metal lattice type. They are characterized by the presence of a metallic luster, plasticity, thermal and electrical conductivity. They can melt at different temperatures.

As we already know, a substance can exist in three states of aggregation: gaseous, hard And liquid. Oxygen, which under normal conditions is in a gaseous state, at a temperature of -194 ° C is transformed into a bluish liquid, and at a temperature of -218.8 ° C it turns into a snow-like mass with blue crystals.

The temperature range for the existence of a substance in the solid state is determined by the boiling and melting points. Solids are crystalline And amorphous.

U amorphous substances there is no fixed melting point - when heated, they gradually soften and turn into a fluid state. In this state, for example, various resins and plasticine are found.

Crystalline substances They are distinguished by the regular arrangement of the particles of which they consist: atoms, molecules and ions, at strictly defined points in space. When these points are connected by straight lines, a spatial framework is created, it is called a crystal lattice. The points at which crystal particles are located are called lattice nodes.

The nodes of the lattice we imagine can contain ions, atoms and molecules. These particles perform oscillatory movements. When the temperature increases, the range of these oscillations also increases, which leads to thermal expansion of bodies.

Depending on the type of particles located at the nodes of the crystal lattice and the nature of the connection between them, four types of crystal lattices are distinguished: ionic, atomic, molecular And metal.

Ionic These are called crystal lattices in which ions are located at the nodes. They are formed by substances with ionic bonds, which can bind both simple ions Na+, Cl-, and complex SO24-, OH-. Thus, ionic crystal lattices have salts, some oxides and hydroxyls of metals, i.e. those substances in which an ionic chemical bond exists. Consider a sodium chloride crystal; it consists of positively alternating Na+ and negative CL- ions, together they form a cube-shaped lattice. The bonds between ions in such a crystal are extremely stable. Because of this, substances with an ionic lattice have relatively high strength and hardness; they are refractory and nonvolatile.

Atomic Crystal lattices are those crystal lattices whose nodes contain individual atoms. In such lattices, atoms are connected to each other by very strong covalent bonds. For example, diamond is one of the allotropic modifications of carbon.

Substances with an atomic crystal lattice are not very common in nature. These include crystalline boron, silicon and germanium, as well as complex substances, for example those containing silicon (IV) oxide - SiO 2: silica, quartz, sand, rock crystal.

The vast majority of substances with an atomic crystal lattice have very high melting points (for diamond it exceeds 3500 ° C), such substances are strong and hard, practically insoluble.

Molecular These are called crystal lattices in which molecules are located at the nodes. Chemical bonds in these molecules can also be polar (HCl, H 2 0) or non-polar (N 2, O 3). And although the atoms inside the molecules are connected by very strong covalent bonds, weak forces of intermolecular attraction act between the molecules themselves. That is why substances with molecular crystal lattices are characterized by low hardness, low melting point, and volatility.

Examples of such substances include solid water - ice, solid carbon monoxide (IV) - “dry ice”, solid hydrogen chloride and hydrogen sulfide, solid simple substances formed by one - (noble gases), two - (H 2, O 2, CL 2 , N 2 , I 2), three - (O 3), four - (P 4), eight-atomic (S 8) molecules. The vast majority of solid organic compounds have molecular crystal lattices (naphthalene, glucose, sugar).

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Let's talk about solids. Solids can be divided into two large groups: amorphous And crystalline. We will separate them according to the principle of whether there is order or not.

IN amorphous substances the molecules are arranged randomly. There are no patterns in their spatial arrangement. Essentially, amorphous substances are very viscous liquids, so viscous that they are solid.

Hence the name: “a-” – negative particle, “morphe” – form. Amorphous substances include: glass, resins, wax, paraffin, soap.

The lack of order in the arrangement of particles determines the physical properties of amorphous bodies: they do not have fixed melting points. As they heat up, their viscosity gradually decreases, and they also gradually turn into a liquid state.

In contrast to amorphous substances, there are crystalline substances. The particles of a crystalline substance are spatially ordered. This correct structure of the spatial arrangement of particles in a crystalline substance is called crystal lattice.

Unlike amorphous bodies, crystalline substances have fixed melting points.

Depending on what particles are in lattice nodes, and what connections hold them together differentiate them: molecular, atomic, ionic And metal grates.

Why is it fundamentally important to know what kind of crystal lattice a substance has? What does it define? All. The structure determines how chemical and physical properties of a substance.

The simplest example: DNA. In all organisms on earth, it is built from the same set of structural components: four types of nucleotides. And what a variety of life. This is all determined by structure: the order in which these nucleotides are arranged.

Molecular crystal lattice.

A typical example is water in a solid state (ice). Entire molecules are located at lattice sites. And keep them together intermolecular interactions: hydrogen bonds, van der Waals forces.

These bonds are weak, so the molecular lattice is the most fragile, the melting point of such substances is low.

A good diagnostic sign: if a substance has a liquid or gaseous state under normal conditions and/or has an odor, then most likely this substance has a molecular crystal lattice. After all, the liquid and gaseous states are a consequence of the fact that the molecules on the surface of the crystal do not adhere well (the bonds are weak). And they are “blown away”. This property is called volatility. And the deflated molecules, diffusing in the air, reach our olfactory organs, which is subjectively felt as a smell.

They have a molecular crystal lattice:

1. Some simple substances of non-metals: I 2, P, S (that is, all non-metals that do not have an atomic lattice).
2. Almost all organic substances ( except salts).
3. And as mentioned earlier, substances under normal conditions are liquid, or gaseous (being frozen) and/or odorless (NH 3, O 2, H 2 O, acids, CO 2).

Atomic crystal lattice.

In the nodes of the atomic crystal lattice, in contrast to the molecular one, there are individual atoms. It turns out that the lattice is held together by covalent bonds (after all, they are the ones that bind neutral atoms).

A classic example is the standard of strength and hardness - diamond (by its chemical nature it is a simple substance - carbon). Contacts: covalent nonpolar, since the lattice is formed only by carbon atoms.

But, for example, in a quartz crystal (the chemical formula of which is SiO 2) there are Si and O atoms. Therefore, the bonds covalent polar.

Physical properties of substances with an atomic crystal lattice:

1. strength, hardness
2. high melting points (refractoriness)
3. non-volatile substances
4. insoluble (neither in water nor in other solvents)

All these properties are due to the strength of covalent bonds.

There are few substances in an atomic crystal lattice. There is no particular pattern, so you just need to remember them:

1. Allotropic modifications of carbon (C): diamond, graphite.
2. Boron (B), silicon (Si), germanium (Ge).
3. Only two allotropic modifications of phosphorus have an atomic crystal lattice: red phosphorus and black phosphorus. (white phosphorus has a molecular crystal lattice).
4. SiC – carborundum (silicon carbide).
5. BN – boron nitride.
6. Silica, rock crystal, quartz, river sand - all these substances have the composition SiO 2.
7. Corundum, ruby, sapphire - these substances have the composition Al 2 O 3.

Surely the question arises: C is both diamond and graphite. But they are completely different: graphite is opaque, stains, and conducts electricity, while diamond is transparent, does not stain, and does not conduct electricity. They differ in structure.

Both are atomic lattice, but different. Therefore, the properties are different.

Ionic crystal lattice.

Classic example: table salt: NaCl. At the lattice nodes there are individual ions: Na + and Cl – . The lattice is held in place by electrostatic forces of attraction between the ions (“plus” is attracted to “minus”), that is ionic bond.

Ionic crystal lattices are quite strong, but fragile; the melting temperatures of such substances are quite high (higher than those of metallic lattices, but lower than those of substances with an atomic lattice). Many are soluble in water.

As a rule, there are no problems with determining the ionic crystal lattice: where there is an ionic bond, there is an ionic crystal lattice. This: all salts, metal oxides, alkalis(and other basic hydroxides).

Metal crystal lattice.

The metal grating is sold in simple substances metals. Earlier we said that all the splendor of the metallic bond can only be understood in conjunction with the metallic crystal lattice. The hour has come.

The main property of metals: electrons on external energy level They are poorly held, so they are easily given away. Having lost an electron, the metal turns into a positively charged ion - a cation:

Na 0 – 1e → Na +

In a metal crystal lattice, processes of electron release and gain constantly occur: an electron is torn away from a metal atom at one lattice site. A cation is formed. The detached electron is attracted by another cation (or the same one): a neutral atom is formed again.

The nodes of a metal crystal lattice contain both neutral atoms and metal cations. And free electrons travel between the nodes:

These free electrons are called electron gas. They determine the physical properties of simple metal substances:

1. thermal and electrical conductivity
2. metallic shine
3. malleability, ductility

This is a metallic bond: metal cations are attracted to neutral atoms and free electrons “glue” it all together.

How to determine the type of crystal lattice.

P.S. There is something in the school curriculum and the Unified State Examination program on this topic that we do not entirely agree with. Namely: the generalization that any metal-nonmetal bond is an ionic bond. This assumption was deliberately made, apparently to simplify the program. But this leads to distortion. The boundary between ionic and covalent bonds is arbitrary. Each bond has its own percentage of “ionicity” and “covalency”. The bond with a low-active metal has a small percentage of “ionicity”; it is more like a covalent one. But according to the Unified State Exam program, it is “rounded” towards the ionic one. This gives rise to sometimes absurd things. For example, Al 2 O 3 is a substance with an atomic crystal lattice. What kind of ionicity are we talking about here? Only a covalent bond can hold atoms together in this way. But according to the metal-non-metal standard, we classify this bond as ionic. And we get a contradiction: the lattice is atomic, but the bond is ionic. This is what oversimplification leads to.

Most solids have a crystalline structure. Crystal cell built from repeating identical structural units, individual for each crystal. This structural unit is called the “unit cell”. In other words, the crystal lattice serves as a reflection of the spatial structure of a solid.

Crystal lattices can be classified in different ways.

I. According to the symmetry of crystals lattices are classified into cubic, tetragonal, rhombic, hexagonal.

This classification is convenient for assessing the optical properties of crystals, as well as their catalytic activity.

II. By the nature of the particles, located at lattice nodes and by type of chemical bond there is a distinction between them atomic, molecular, ionic and metal crystal lattices. The type of bond in a crystal determines the difference in hardness, solubility in water, the heat of solution and heat of fusion, and electrical conductivity.

An important characteristic of a crystal is crystal lattice energy, kJ/mol – the energy that must be expended to destroy a given crystal.

Molecular lattice

Molecular crystals consist of molecules held in certain positions of the crystal lattice by weak intermolecular bonds (van der Waals forces) or hydrogen bonds. These lattices are characteristic of substances with covalent bonds.

There are a lot of substances with a molecular lattice. These are a large number of organic compounds (sugar, naphthalene, etc.), crystalline water (ice), solid carbon dioxide (“dry ice”), solid hydrogen halides, iodine, solid gases, including noble ones,

The energy of the crystal lattice is minimal for substances with non-polar and low-polar molecules (CH 4, CO 2, etc.).

Lattices formed by more polar molecules also have a higher crystal lattice energy. The lattices with substances that form hydrogen bonds (H 2 O, NH 3) have the highest energy.

Due to the weak interaction between molecules, these substances are volatile, fusible, have low hardness, do not conduct electric current (dielectrics) and have low thermal conductivity.

Atomic lattice

In nodes atomic crystal lattice there are atoms of one or different elements connected to each other by covalent bonds along all three axes. Such crystals which are also called covalent, are relatively few in number.

Examples of crystals of this type include diamond, silicon, germanium, tin, as well as crystals of complex substances such as boron nitride, aluminum nitride, quartz, and silicon carbide. All these substances have a diamond-like lattice.

The energy of the crystal lattice in such substances practically coincides with the energy of the chemical bond (200 – 500 kJ/mol). This determines their physical properties: high hardness, melting point and boiling point.

The electrically conductive properties of these crystals are varied: diamond, quartz, boron nitride are dielectrics; silicon, germanium – semiconductors; Metallic gray tin conducts electricity well.

In crystals with an atomic crystal lattice, it is impossible to distinguish a separate structural unit. The entire single crystal is one giant molecule.

Ionic lattice

In nodes ionic lattice positive and negative ions alternate, between which electrostatic forces act. Ionic crystals form compounds with ionic bonds, for example, sodium chloride NaCl, potassium fluoride and KF, etc. Ionic compounds may also include complex ions, for example, NO 3 -, SO 4 2 -.

Ionic crystals are also a giant molecule in which each ion is significantly influenced by all other ions.

The energy of the ionic crystal lattice can reach significant values. So, E (NaCl) = 770 kJ/mol, and E (BeO) = 4530 kJ/mol.

Ionic crystals have high melting and boiling points and high strength, but are brittle. Many of them conduct electricity poorly at room temperature (about twenty orders of magnitude lower than metals), but with increasing temperature an increase in electrical conductivity is observed.

Metal grate

Metal crystals give examples of the simplest crystal structures.

Metal ions in the lattice of a metal crystal can be approximately considered in the form of spheres. In solid metals, these balls are packed with maximum density, as indicated by the significant density of most metals (from 0.97 g/cm 3 for sodium, 8.92 g/cm 3 for copper to 19.30 g/cm 3 for tungsten and gold ). The most dense packing of balls in one layer is a hexagonal packing, in which each ball is surrounded by six other balls (in the same plane). The centers of any three adjacent balls form an equilateral triangle.

Properties of metals such as high ductility and malleability indicate a lack of rigidity in metal gratings: their planes move quite easily relative to each other.

Valence electrons participate in the formation of bonds with all atoms and move freely throughout the entire volume of a piece of metal. This is indicated by high values ​​of electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity.

In terms of crystal lattice energy, metals occupy an intermediate position between molecular and covalent crystals. The energy of the crystal lattice is:

Thus, the physical properties of solids depend significantly on the type of chemical bond and structure.

Structure and properties of solids

(All definitions, formulas, graphs and equations of reactions are given on record.)

Solid crystals can be thought of as three-dimensional structures in which the same structure is clearly repeated in all directions. The geometrically correct shape of crystals is due to their strictly regular internal structure. If the centers of attraction of ions or molecules in a crystal are depicted as points, then we obtain a three-dimensional regular distribution of such points, which is called a crystal lattice, and the points themselves are nodes of the crystal lattice. The specific external shape of crystals is a consequence of their internal structure, which is associated specifically with the crystal lattice.

A crystal lattice is an imaginary geometric image for analyzing the structure of crystals, which is a volumetric-spatial network structure in the nodes of which atoms, ions or molecules of a substance are located.

To characterize the crystal lattice, the following parameters are used:

1. crystal lattice E cr [KJ/mol] is the energy released during the formation of 1 mole of a crystal from microparticles (atoms, molecules, ions) that are in a gaseous state and are separated from each other at such a distance that the possibility of their interaction is excluded.
2. Lattice constant d is the smallest distance between the centers of two particles at adjacent sites of the crystal lattice connected by .
3. Coordination number- the number of nearby particles surrounding the central particle in space and combining with it through a chemical bond.

The basis of the crystal lattice is the unit cell, which is repeated in the crystal an infinite number of times.

The unit cell is the smallest structural unit of a crystal lattice, which exhibits all the properties of its symmetry.

Simply put, a unit cell can be defined as a small part of a crystal lattice, which still reveals the characteristic features of its crystals. The characteristics of a unit cell are described using three Brevet rules:

• the symmetry of the unit cell must correspond to the symmetry of the crystal lattice;
• a unit cell must have the maximum number of identical edges A,b, With and equal angles between them a, b, g. ;
• provided that the first two rules are met, the unit cell must occupy a minimum volume.

To describe the shape of crystals, a system of three crystallographic axes is used a, b, c, which differ from ordinary coordinate axes in that they are segments of a certain length, the angles between which a, b, g can be either straight or indirect.

Crystal structure model: a) crystal lattice with a highlighted unit cell; b) unit cell with designations of facet angles

The shape of a crystal is studied by the science of geometric crystallography, one of the main provisions of which is the law of constancy of facet angles: for all crystals of a given substance, the angles between the corresponding faces always remain the same.

If you take a large number of elementary cells and fill a certain volume with them tightly to each other, maintaining the parallelism of the faces and edges, then a single crystal with an ideal structure is formed. But in practice, most often there are polycrystals in which regular structures exist within certain limits, along which the orientation of the regularity changes sharply.

Depending on the ratio of the lengths of the edges a, b, c and the angles a, b, g between the faces of the unit cell, seven systems are distinguished - the so-called crystal syngonies. However, an elementary cell can also be constructed in such a way that it has additional nodes that are located inside its volume or on all its faces - such lattices are called body-centered and face-centered, respectively. If the additional nodes are only on two opposite faces (top and bottom), then it is a base-centered lattice. Taking into account the possibility of additional nodes, there are a total of 14 types of crystal lattices.

The external shape and features of the internal structure of crystals are determined by the principle of dense “packing”: the most stable, and therefore the most probable structure will be the one that corresponds to the most dense arrangement of particles in the crystal and in which the smallest free space remains.

Types of crystal lattices

Depending on the nature of the particles contained in the nodes of the crystal lattice, as well as on the nature of the chemical bonds between them, there are four main types of crystal lattices.

Ionic lattices

Ionic lattices are constructed from unlike ions located at lattice sites and connected by forces of electrostatic attraction. Therefore, the structure of the ionic crystal lattice should ensure its electrical neutrality. Ions can be simple (Na +, Cl -) or complex (NH 4 +, NO 3 -). Due to the unsaturation and non-directionality of ionic bonds, ionic crystals are characterized by large coordination numbers. Thus, in NaCl crystals, the coordination numbers of Na + and Cl - ions are 6, and Cs + and Cl - ions in a CsCl crystal are 8, since one Cs + ion is surrounded by eight Cl - ions, and each Cl - ion is surrounded by eight Cs ions, respectively + . Ionic crystal lattices are formed by a large number of salts, oxides and bases.

Substances with ionic crystal lattices have a relatively high hardness, they are quite refractory and non-volatile. In contrast, ionic compounds are very fragile, so even a small shift in the crystal lattice brings like-charged ions closer to each other, the repulsion between which leads to the breaking of ionic bonds and, as a consequence, to the appearance of cracks in the crystal or to its destruction. In the solid state, substances with an ionic crystal lattice are dielectrics and do not conduct electric current. However, when melted or dissolved in polar solvents, the geometrically correct orientation of the ions relative to each other is disrupted, chemical bonds are first weakened and then destroyed, and therefore the properties also change. As a consequence, both melts of ionic crystals and their solutions begin to conduct electric current.

Atomic lattices

These lattices are built from atoms connected to each other. They, in turn, are divided into three types: frame, layered and chain structures.

Frame structure has, for example, diamond - one of the hardest substances. Thanks to sp 3 hybridization of the carbon atom, a three-dimensional lattice is built, which consists exclusively of carbon atoms connected by covalent nonpolar bonds, the axes of which are located at the same bond angles (109.5 o).

Layered structures can be considered as huge two-dimensional molecules. Layered structures are characterized by covalent bonds within each layer and weak van der Waals interactions between adjacent layers.

A classic example of a substance with a layered structure is graphite, in which each carbon atom is in a state of sp 2 hybridization and forms three covalent s-bonds with three other C atoms in one plane. The fourth valence electrons of each carbon atom are unhybridized, due to which very weak van der Waals bonds between layers. Therefore, when even a small force is applied, the individual layers easily begin to slide along each other. This explains, for example, the ability of graphite to write. Unlike diamond, graphite conducts electricity well: under the influence of an electric field, non-localized electrons can move along the plane of the layers, and, conversely, graphite almost does not conduct electric current in the perpendicular direction.

Chain structures characteristic, for example, of sulfur oxide (SO 3) n, cinnabar HgS, beryllium chloride BeCl 2, as well as many amorphous polymers and some silicate materials such as asbestos.

There are relatively few substances with the atomic structure of crystal lattices. These are, as a rule, simple substances formed by elements of the IIIA and IVA subgroups (Si, Ge, B, C). Often, compounds of two different nonmetals have atomic lattices, for example, some polymorphs of quartz (silicon oxide SiO 2) and carborundum (silicon carbide SiC).

All atomic crystals are distinguished by high strength, hardness, refractoriness and insolubility in almost any solvent. These properties are due to the strength of the covalent bond. Substances with an atomic crystal lattice have a wide range of electrical conductivity from insulators and semiconductors to electronic conductors.

Metal gratings

These crystal lattices contain metal atoms and ions at their nodes, between which electrons (electron gas) common to all of them move freely and form a metallic bond. A peculiarity of metal crystal lattices is their large coordination numbers (8-12), which indicate a significant packing density of metal atoms. This is explained by the fact that the “cores” of atoms, devoid of external electrons, are located in space like balls of the same radius. For metals, three types of crystal lattices are most often found: face-centered cubic with a coordination number of 12, body-centered cubic with a coordination number of 8, and hexagonal, close-packed with a coordination number of 12.

The special characteristics of metal bonds and metal lattices determine such important properties of metals as high melting points, electrical and thermal conductivity, malleability, ductility, and hardness.

Molecular lattices

Molecular crystal lattices contain molecules at their nodes that are connected to each other by weak intermolecular forces—van der Waals or hydrogen bonds. For example, ice consists of water molecules held in a crystal lattice by hydrogen bonds. The same type includes crystal lattices of many substances transferred to the solid state, for example: simple substances H 2, O 2, N 2, O 3, P 4, S 8, halogens (F 2, Cl 2, Br 2, I 2 ), “dry ice” CO 2, all noble gases and most organic compounds.

Since the forces of intermolecular interaction are weaker than those of covalent or metallic bonds, molecular crystals have little hardness; They are fusible and volatile, insoluble in and do not exhibit electrical conductivity.