In gaseous substances, the arrangement of molecules is not close. In liquids, the molecular arrangement is moderate. But, in solids, the molecules are so closely arranged, that the electrons in the atoms of molecules tend to move into the orbitals of neighboring atoms. Hence the electron orbitals overlap when the atoms come together.

Due to the intermixing of atoms in solids, instead of single energy levels, there will be bands of energy levels formed. These set of energy levels, which are closely packed are called as Energy bands.

Valance Band

The electrons move in the atoms in certain energy levels but the energy of the electrons in the innermost shell is higher than the outermost shell electrons. The electrons that are present in the outermost shell are called as Valance Electrons.

These valance electrons, containing a series of energy levels, form an energy band which is called as Valence Band. The valence band is the band having the highest occupied energy.

Conduction Band

The valence electrons are so loosely attached to the nucleus that even at room temperature, few of the valence electrons leave the band to be free. These are called as free electrons as they tend to move towards the neighboring atoms.

These free electrons are the ones which conduct the current in a conductor and hence called as Conduction Electrons. The band which contains conduction electrons is called as Conduction Band. The conduction band is the band having the lowest occupied energy.