Why ionic crystals are hard and brittle?

1.	Why ionic crystals are hard and brittle?
Answer» The ionic compounds are very hard and brittle. In ionic compounds the ions are rigidly held in a lattice because the positive and negative ions are strongly attracted to each other and difficult to separate. But the brittleness of a compound is now easy to shift the position of atoms or ions in a lattice. If we apply a pressure on the ionic compounds the layers shifts slightly. The same charged ions in the lattice comes closer. A repulsive forces arises between ‘ same charged ions, due to this repulsions the lattice structure breaks down chemical bonding.

Answer»

The ionic compounds are very hard and brittle. In ionic compounds the ions are rigidly held in a lattice because the positive and negative ions are strongly attracted to each other and difficult to separate. But the brittleness of a compound is now easy to shift the position of atoms or ions in a lattice.

If we apply a pressure on the ionic compounds the layers shifts slightly. The same charged ions in the lattice comes closer. A repulsive forces arises between ‘ same charged ions, due to this repulsions the lattice structure breaks down chemical bonding.

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