Summarizing Structure and General Properties of the Metalloids

Key Concepts and Summary

The elements boron, silicon, germanium, arsenic, antimony, and tellurium separate the metals from the nonmetals in the periodic table. These elements, called metalloids or sometimes semimetals, exhibit properties characteristic of both metals and nonmetals. The structures of these elements are similar in many ways to those of nonmetals, but the elements are electrical semiconductors.

Glossary

amorphous

solid material such as a glass that does not have a regular repeating component to its three-dimensional structure; a solid but not a crystal

borate

compound containing boron-oxygen bonds, typically with clusters or chains as a part of the chemical structure

polymorph

variation in crystalline structure that results in different physical properties for the resulting compound

silicate

compound containing silicon-oxygen bonds, with silicate tetrahedra connected in rings, sheets, or three-dimensional networks, depending on the other elements involved in the formation of the compounds