What is Rust?
Rust is the result of the reaction between a metal and a non-metal. To have the clearest view possible of this process we will take the example of metallic Iron reacting with Oxygen to form the brownish, flaky rust we are all used to seeing on our cars and drain pipes. The Metal Lattice We have previously seen how metals come to form lattices that consist of alternating layers of positively charged ions and free electrons. This layered structure of metal is presented below: Oxygen Gas Oxygen gas, O2, consists of two atoms of Oxygen covalently bonded together. This is a fairly stable state for Oxygen but given the opportunity each Oxygen atom will absorb two electrons from elsewhere and have a full outer shell of 8 electrons without having to share. This is the most stable state for any Oxygen atom. What is Rust? It’s The Reaction Between the Two We know that the metal Iron has loose electrons. We also know that each of the atoms in the oxygen molecule would prefer to have 8 electrons w
