Q: What are the Electronic Characteristics of Metals? A: They are electron donors. They possess no more than three valence electrons. They have low ionization energies - they lose electrons relatively easily. They are electro-positive - they do not attract electrons. In ionically bonded solids, the metallic species form cations. In metallic solids, the atoms "lose" their outer shell electrons to form a "cloud," which is shared by all other atoms (cations).