Question

Does solid NaCl conduct? Why or why not?

Answer 1

Absolutely not....

Explanation:

The ability of a material to conduct an electric charge depends on a presence of charged particles that ARE FREE TO MOVE. While we do have such charged particles in sodium chloride, these are rigidly held in an electrostatic lattice of `Na^+Cl^-`.

On the other hand....in the melt...liquid sodium chloride DOES conduct electricity...even tho sodium chloride has an elevated melting point due to the strength of the ionic bond...

On the other, other hand, sodium chloride undergoes chemical reaction with the water solvent to give aquated ions...

`NaCl(s) stackrel(H_2O)rarrNa^(+)+Cl^(-)`

The sodium ion in aqueous solution is arguably `[Na(OH_2)_6]^+`...and the gegenion is present as … `[Cl(H_2O)_(4-6)]^-` or something similar...and these ions are competent to carry an electric current....