Question

Catenation is the ability of an atom to form bonds with other atoms of the same element. It is exhibited by both carbon and siicon. Compare the ability of catenation of the tw element. Give reasons

Answer 1

Carbon can show catenation to large extent (from chains containing 20 or more carbon atoms) whereas silicon shows catenation to small extent only (form chains containing not more than 6 silicon atoms).

Carbon is smaller in size as compared to silicon. It can undergo effective overlapping with the orbitals of another carbon atom. So, its bond energy value is higher than silicon. The bond energy of C-C bond (348 kJ/mol) is more than Si-Si bond (225 kJ/mol) Consequently, its catenating power is also higher than silicon.