I‘m starting to learn about crystal structure and unit cells in chemistry. I‘m somewhat confused as to what types of forces between atoms play into the type of unit cell formed. Do molecular compounds in solid states have crystal structures, such as H20?How about pure non-metal elements like C? Diamonds and graphite.What about ionic compounds like Si02?And finally what about pure elements like copper?Right now we are just doing things like calculating the density of NaCl but I‘m still lost as to which types of compounds are capable of forming crystal structures in solid states, and what forces play into these structural types.
