Properties & Uses of Alloys (OCR GCSE Chemistry A (Gateway)): Revision Note

Properties & Uses of Alloys

• Alloys are mixtures of metals where the metals are not chemically combined

• They can also be made from metals mixed with non-metals such as carbon or phosphorus

• Alloys often have properties that can be very different from the metals they contain, for example they can have more strength, hardness or resistance to corrosion or extreme temperatures

• Alloys contain atoms of different sizes, which distorts the regular arrangements of atoms

• This makes it more difficult for the layers to slide over each other, so they are usually much harder and stronger than the pure metal

The regular arrangement of a metal lattice structure is distorted in alloys

• Different alloys have different uses, displayed below

Table of different alloys and their uses