Question

From my understanding, ionic compounds are brittle due to the alternating cations and anions within their lattice. Hence when stress is applied, similarly charged ions will repel causing the structure to shatter. However, by this logic, shouldn't ionic compounds also be able to come back together this way? Consider grains of table salt, why can't they join together via electrostatic forces?

Answer 1

Ionic compounds are brittle and shatter when stressed because ions with similar charges repel each other. They don't rejoin after breaking because the ions lack the mobility to realign themselves without specific conditions that facilitated their initial formation. Electrostatic attractions give ionic compounds structural integrity, but also make them poor electrical conductors in solid form.

Step-by-step explanation:

Yes, ionic compounds are brittle because when stress is applied, ions of the same charge align, leading to repulsion and shattering. While it is logical to think that table salt grains might join together again due to electrostatic forces, this doesn't happen because once shattered, the ions lack the mobility needed to realign themselves into a crystal lattice.

The initial formation of ionic compounds occurs under conditions that facilitate the orderly arrangement of ions, but without these specific conditions, the independent ions in broken crystals or grains lack the directive forces to join together again.

Ionic compounds form strong electrostatic attractions between oppositely charged ions, which give them a crystalline structure and high melting and boiling points. However, they are brittle and poor conductors of electricity in solid form because ionic bonds prevent ions from moving freely. When dissolved or melted, conductivity is restored due to the freed movement of ions.