What is a compound in which all of the atoms are connected to one another by covalent bonds?
compound metal
covalent bond element
covalent mixture
covalent network solid
One type of molecular compound behaves quite differently than that described so far. A covalent network solid is a compound in which all of the atoms are connected to one another by covalent bonds. Diamond is composed entirely of carbon atoms, each bonded to four other carbon atoms in a tetrahedral geometry. Melting a covalent network solid is not accomplished by overcoming the relatively weak intermolecular forces. Rather, all of the covalent bonds must be broken, a process that requires extremely high temperatures. Diamond, in fact, does not melt at all. Instead, it vaporizes to a gas at temperatures above 3500°C.