What is the Metallic Bond?

Topological analysis of the metal-metal bond: A tutorial review

“…Tr ← → σ (r)dr (34) which can be expressed as the sum of four components arising from the action of −r • ∇ on the potential energy operatorV:…”

“…For example, G. N. Lewis has not considered the metallic bond in his classical textbook [31] while Pauling describes it as a partial covalent bond between nearest neighbour atomic centres [32]. This covalent description has been more recently advocated by Anderson et al [33] and by L. C. Allen and J. Capitani [34] in order to remove the metallic bond from the vocabulary of Chemistry. The simplest model, the jellium model, describes a bulk metal or alloy as a periodic array of positively charged ions embedded in a uniform homogeneous gas.…”

Intrinsic hardness of crystalline solids

“…The theoretical basis of "metallic" bonding is still under intense debate [31,32]. In one school of thought [32] a metal may be described as comprised of weak covalent (directions) bonds and delocalized electrons.…”

Pressure effect on electron localization in solid lithium

“…This covalent description has been more recently advocated by Anderson et al . [13] and by L. C. Allen and J. Capitani [14] in order to remove the metallic bond from the vocabulary of Chemistry. The simplest model, the jellium model, describes a bulk metal or alloy as a periodic array of positively charged ions embedded in a uniform homogeneous gas which can be understood as an extreme case of delocalization.…”