What Is a Lattice in Chemistry?

When a substance is in its solid state, as a solid phase material, its particles are arranged into a lattice. These lattices are arranged to achieve minimum stored energy. The bonding of lattices is chemical in nature, and is an important factor in categorizing lattices.

• Ions are bonded with ionic bonding, creating a giant ionic lattice.
• Atoms are bonded with covalent bonding, creating a giant molecular lattice.
• Molecules are bonded with covalent bonding (for atoms forming molecules) and intermolecular bonding (between separate molecules), creating a molecular lattice.