Silicon 14 Si 28.0855(3)   Switch element to... actinium aluminium aluminum americium antimony argon arsenic astatine barium berkelium beryllium bismuth bohrium boron bromine cadmium caesium calcium californium carbon cerium cesium chlorine chromium cobalt copper curium darmstadtium dubnium dysprosium einsteinium erbium europium fermium fluorine francium gadolinium gallium germanium gold hafnium hassium helium holmium hydrogen indium iodine iridium iron krypton lanthanum lawrencium lead lithium lutetium magnesium manganese meitnerium mendelevium mercury molybdenum neodymium neon neptunium nickel niobium nitrogen nobelium osmium oxygen palladium phosphorus platinum plutonium polonium potassium praseodymium promethium protactinium radium radon rhenium rhodium roentgenium rubidium ruthenium rutherfordium samarium scandium seaborgium selenium silicon silver sodium strontium sulfur sulphur tantalum technetium tellurium terbium thallium thorium thulium tin titanium tungsten ununbium ununhexium ununoctium ununpentium ununquadium ununtrium uranium vanadium xenon ytterbium yttrium zinc zirconium Go adjacent... B C N Al Si P Ga Ge As

The essentials

Description 

Here is a brief description of silicon.

• Standard state: solid at 298 K
• Colour: dark grey with a bluish tinge
• Classification: Semi-metallic
• Availability:

Small and large samples of silicon lump like this, as well as foil, can be purchased via their web catalogue from Advent Research Materials via their web catalogue.

Silicon is present in the sun and stars and is a principal component of a class of meteorites known as aerolites. Silicon makes up 25.7% of the earth's crust by weight, and is the second most abundant element, exceeded only by oxygen. It is found largely as silicon oxides such as sand (silica), quartz, rock crystal, amethyst, agate, flint, jasper and opal. Silicon is found also in minerals such as asbestos, feldspar, clay and mica.

Silicon is important in plant and animal life. Diatoms in both fresh and salt water extract silica from the water to use as a component of their cell walls. Silicon is an important ingredient in steel. Silicon carbide is one of the most important abrasives. Workers in environments where silicaceous dust is breathed may develop a serious lung disease known as silicosis.

Hydrolysis and condensation of substituted chlorosilanes can be used to produce a very great number of polymeric products, or silicones. These range from liquids to hard, glasslike solids with many useful properties.

Elemental silicon transmits more than 95% of all wavelengths of infrared and and has been used in lasers to produce coherent light at 456 nm.

Nearing Zero cartoon included by kind permission of Nick Kim.

Isolation

There is normally no need to make silicon in the laboratory as it is readily available commercially. Silicon is readily available through the treatment of silica, SiO₂, with pure graphite (as coke) in an electric furnace.

SiO₂ + 2C → Si + 2CO

Under these conditions, silicon carbide, SiC, can form. However, provided the amount of SiO₂ is kept high, silicon carbide may be eliminated.

2SiC + SiO₂ → 3Si + 2CO

Very pure silicon can be made by the reaction of SiCl₄ with hydrogen, followed by zone refining of the resultant silicon.

SiCl₄ + 2H₂ → Si + 4HCl

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