Difference Between Silicon and Carbon

The key difference between silicon and carbon is that the carbon is a nonmetal whereas the silicon is a metalloid.

Carbon and silicon, both are in the same group (group 14) of the periodic table. Hence, they have four electrons in the outer energy level. They occur in two oxidation states, +2 and +4. And both exist as giant molecular lattices.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Silicon
3. What is Carbon
4. Side by Side Comparison – Silicon vs Carbon in Tabular Form
5. Summary

What is Silicon?

Silicon is the element with atomic number 14, and it is also in group 14 of the periodic table, just below carbon. It has the chemical symbol Si. Its electron configuration is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p². Silicon can remove four electrons and form a +4 charged cation, or it can share these electrons to form four covalent bonds.

We can characterize silicon as a metalloid because it has both metal and nonmetal properties. Silicon is a hard and inert metalloid solid. The melting point of silicon is 1414 ^oC, and the boiling point is 3265 ^oC. Crystal-like silicon is very brittle. It exists very rarely as pure silicon in nature. Mainly, it occurs as the oxide or silicate. Since an outer oxide layer protects silicon, it is less susceptible to chemical reactions. it requires high temperatures to oxidize. In contrast, silicon reacts with fluorine at room temperature. Silicon does not react with acids but reacts with concentrated alkalis.

Moreover, there are lots of industrial uses of silicon. Silicon is a semiconductor, therefore, useful in computers and electronic devices. Silicon compounds like silica or silicates are widely important in ceramic, glass and cement industries.

What is Carbon?

Carbon is everywhere. There are millions of compounds containing carbon. Thus, we can say that carbon is the framework for our body. One reason for this is the ability of carbon to form four covalent bonds with a large number of elements. These compounds are stable and can occur as either chains or rings. Carbon atoms are small, and this allows two carbon atoms to come closer so that electrons in p orbitals can overlap forming multiple bonds.

Carbon has the atomic number six, and it is a nonmetal in group 14 in the periodic table. The electron configuration of Carbon is 1s² 2s² 2p². Carbon is a black/grey colour solid. As pure carbon, the most common forms are graphite, coal, and diamond. In graphite, hexagonally arranged carbon atoms form layers. There is a small gap between the layers, and electrons delocalize within the layers. Because of this, graphite has electrical conductivity. Diamond is the hardest mineral we know. Thus, in this each carbon attaches to four other carbons with covalent bonds, and this unit repeats to form diamonds. Therefore, diamond has a rigid tetrahedral network. Diamond is a good thermal conductor, and it has special optical characteristics.

What is the Difference Between Silicon and Carbon?

Silicon is the element with atomic number 14, and it is also in group 14 of the periodic table, just below carbon whereas carbon is the element with atomic number 6, and it is also in the group 14 of the periodic table, just above silicon. However, the difference between silicon and carbon is that the carbon is a nonmetal whereas the silicon is a metalloid.

Furthermore, carbon and silicon have the same common electron configuration as s², p². But, there is a difference between silicon and carbon. In silicon, the electrons spread into the 3rd energy level, whereas in carbon, it is only to the 2nd energy level. This difference occurs because of carbon in the 2nd period, but silicon in the 3rd. Silicon atom is larger than the carbon atom. Moreover, another difference between silicon and carbon is that the silicon is less reactive than carbon. Also, pure carbon compounds occur in nature such as diamond, graphite, and coal. But pure silicon compounds are hardly found. They exist as oxides or silicates.

The below inforgraphic summarizes the difference between silicon and carbon in tabular form.

Summary – Silicon vs Carbon

Silicon and carbon are two important chemical elements. There are a few differences between them as given above. The key difference between silicon and carbon is that carbon is a nonmetal whereas silicon is a metalloid.

Reference:

1. “Silicon.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 6 Oct. 2018. Available here 
2. “Carbon.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 1 Oct. 2018. Available here  

Image Courtesy:

1.”SiliconCroda”By Enricoros (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia  
2.”Graphite-and-diamond-with-scale”By Robert Lavinsky (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia