Which statement best describes the electrical conductivity of non-metals in their pure form?
Non-metals do not conduct electricity
Electrical conductivity in a substance depends on the presence of freely movable charged particles, chiefly free (delocalised) electrons that can drift when a potential difference is applied.
Metals have a sea of free electrons in their structure and therefore conduct electricity very well. Non-metals, in contrast, generally have their valence electrons tightly bound in covalent bonds or held to individual atoms, so no free electrons are available for conduction.
Because of this, non-metals in their pure form are treated as poor conductors, or insulators, of electricity. Common examples such as sulphur, phosphorus, oxygen and diamond do not conduct electricity.
The well-known exception is graphite, an allotrope of carbon, in which one electron per carbon atom is delocalised, allowing conduction along its layers; but this is treated as a special case, not the general behaviour of non-metals.
Hence, the statement that best describes the electrical conductivity of non-metals in their pure form is that non-metals do not conduct electricity.
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