Why do refractory metals have high melting points?

Question

Harper Clark · Accepted Answer

Refractory metals have high melting points because they have strong electrostatic bonds.

Niobium, molybdenum, tantalum, tungsten, and rhenium are the refractory metals; their melting points exceed 2750K. Melting happens when the bonds holding a solid crystal together are broken by the thermal vibrations of the atoms; specifically, this happens when the vibrations' amplitude is greater than the distances separating the atoms. When it comes to metals, the conduction electrons—typically the two outermost electrons in the s shell—form a cloud that leads to the formation of electrostatic bonds between atoms. Refractory metals are those with three, four, or five electrons in the d shell that form covalent bonds with nearby atoms; the strength of these bonds is what gives these metals their high melting points.

Nolan Aldridge · Answer

undefined Refractory metals have high melting points because of their strong metallic bonds, which are hard to break without a lot of energy. They also have high melting points because of the strong attractive forces that can form between atoms because of their electron configuration.