In solid table salt (sodium chloride or NaCl), the atoms of sodium and chlorine are locked to each other in ionic bonds, and these molecules are, in turn, locked into a crystal matrix. There are no "free electrons" in this structure that are available to support the flow of electric current. That's why salt in its solid form won't conduct electricity. It's a different story when sodium chloride is in aqueous solution or is molten. In solution, salt molecules will dissociate. They will "decompose" into ions of sodium and chlorine, what are Na+ and Cl- as we write them in chemistry. These ions have mobility in the solution, and if we stick a pair of electrodes into a salt solution and hook up a battery, we can get current flow through the solution. The ions themselves will be the charge carriers, and salt water is a conductor or an electrolyte. If we melt sodium chloride, it will undergo thermal dissociation. The heat of fusion (standard enthalpy of fusion) is sufficient to again cause the molecules of salt to "decompose" into those ions we spoke of, and the ions will be mobile in the molten salt like they are when salt is in solution. Molten salt will conduct electricity.
Cesium Chloride can only conduct electricity in water or while molten. Once cesium chloride is in a solid state it will not conduct electricity.
Sodium chloride (NaCl) or table salt is a poor conductor of heat and electricity in the solid phase, however, it is a very good conductor in the molten phase. This characteristic is shared by all ionic bonded molecular substances. Electricity can be defined as the flow of charge. Heat, to some extent, as the flow of energy. When a solid, sodium chloride, which consists of positive sodium ions and negative chloride ions, are stationary, fixed in a rigid crystal lattice structure. The charges cannot move, therefore electricity and heat will not be conducted well. When molten (melted) however, the rigid bonds of the crystal lattice are broken, allowing the positive and negative charges to move freely. In this state, when charges are caused to move by applying a potential difference, electricity is conducted, and so is heat.
Sodium chloride is different from a metal as an electrical conductor. This is because sodium chloride is an ionic compound and therefore can only conduct electricity when molten or dissolved, as the ions are free to move in this state. However, metals can conduct electricity when solid or molten because the atoms are free to move in both states, therefore they can carry an electrical charge. This is therefore the difference between sodium chloride and metals as an electrical conductor.
Molten sodium chloride undergoes electrolysis because it allows the ions to freely move and conduct electricity. When an electric current is passed through the molten sodium chloride, sodium ions are attracted to the negative electrode (cathode) and gain electrons to form sodium atoms, while chloride ions are attracted to the positive electrode (anode) and lose electrons to form chlorine atoms. This process separates the sodium and chlorine, leading to the production of sodium metal and chlorine gas.
No, it is not. 'Solid sodium chloride doesn't conduct electricity, because there are no electrons which are free to move.' http://www.chemguide.co.uk/atoms/structures/ionicstruct.html
Not positive, but fairly sure that solid sodium chloride is not a conductor. Molten sodium chloride is a good conductor.
In the molten state, sodium chloride exists as freely moving ions that can carry electrical charge, making it a better conductor compared to its solid state where the ions are locked in a fixed position and cannot move freely to conduct electricity.
Yes, molten NaCl (sodium chloride) is conducting electricity. When solid NaCl is melted, the ionic bonds between sodium and chloride ions are broken, allowing the ions to move freely in the liquid. These mobile charged particles can carry an electric current, making molten NaCl a conductor of electricity.
Not in it's usual solid state. But sodium chloride will conduct electricity of molten or dissolved in water.
Not in its normal, solid form but it will when molten or dissolved in water.
Sodium chloride is an electrical conductor only in solution or when is melted.
In molten form a salt itself is a conductor of electricity.
Copper and molten sodium chloride are electrical conductors.
In its solid state, potassium chloride exists as a crystalline lattice with fixed positions for ions, making it unable to conduct electricity. When melted, the ions are free to move and carry electric charge, allowing potassium chloride to conduct electricity in its molten state.
It will separate to NA+ and Cl- Ions when its molten so, Cl will give its e- to anode and Na+ will give an electron from cathode so making gas of chlorine and solid of sodium and the electricity will flow.
Glass in a molten state is a conductor of electricity. When glass turns to a solid state it becomes an insulator.Basically, glass in a window or a test tube would be the solid state and so it is a insulator of electricity.
yes KCl of potassium chloride is a good conductor of electricty, but ONLY when in an aqueous (water solution) or in molten (fused) state. It doesnot conduct in solid state.