Question

Is Silicon is a metal, metalloid or nonmetal explain?

Answer 1

Metal, metalloid and nonmetal:

• Metals are known as the compounds which have a tendency to donate electron, whereas the elements having gaining tendency of electron is known as nonmetals.
• However, metalloids are known to be those elements which have both the properties of a metal and nonmetal.

Silicon is a metalloid:

• The element Silicon is a chemical element with the chemical symbol $\mathrm{Si}$and the atomic number of 14,which is also a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic luster.
• It is known as a tetravalent metalloid and semiconductor.
• Due to the fact that Silicon have only 4 electrons in its valence shell, hence it has the tendency to both accept and donate electron to complete its octet.
• Which then explains , the tendency of Silicon to possess the properties of both metals and nonmetals, hence called as a metalloid.

Therefore, Silicon is explained known as a metalloid .