You know that some of the characteristic properties of metals are malleability, ductility, conduction of heat and electricity, high melting point etc. The high melting point indicates that bonding in metals is strong in nature. These properties of metals can be explained with the help of electron sea model. According to this model, the cations of metal are present in a sea of electrons as shown below in Fig.5.7.

Electron sea model

The electrostatic forces of attraction hold the electrons and the cations together. Since these forces are strong in nature, the melting point of metals is high. The electrons are distributed throughout the metal and they are not confined to any particular metal cation. These electrons are mobile and hence can conduct electricity when the metal is connected to a battery or two electrodes. Similarly, the metal ions can also move and no specific bonds are to be broken in this movement. Since both the electrons and the metal ions can freely move and their environment does not change by this movement, the metals exhibit the malleability and ductility.
So far we have discussed chemical bonds resulting from strong forces of attraction, but weaker forces of attraction also play an important role towards the properties of many substances. One such type of interaction present between the molecules is hydrogen bonding. Let us now study about it in detail.