ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the configuration of electrons in atoms of different elements and discusses how these configurations control the nature of bonding between different atoms. It describes Metallic, ionic, covalent, and van der Waals bonds. The chapter introduces some concepts of crystal structure, polymorphism, and noncrystalline structures. The crystal structure of an ionically bonded material is determined by the number of atoms of each element required for electrical neutrality and the optimum packing based on the relative sizes of the ions. The chapter provides a brief review of organic structures. Organic molecular structures are usually formed from the nonmetallic elements and hydrogen. The most common are the hydrocarbons, which primarily consist of carbon and hydrogen, but may also have halogens, hydroxid, acetate, or other groups replacing one or more of the hydrogens. Other molecular structures include ammonia, which is made up of nitrogen and hydrogen, and the silicones, which contain silicon in the place of carbon.
