Metalloid Characteristics

As of today, 118 elements feature in the modern periodic table - all of which can be classified into metals and nonmetals, on the basis of their physical and chemical properties. While metals are those elements which are typically characterized by high electrical conductivity, metalloids are the non-metallic elements which share a few properties of metals.

Metalloids

At times, these elements are also referred to as semi-metallic elements. Owing to the distinct characteristics of metalloids, they lie between the metals and nonmetals in the period table. With the help of these distinct characteristics, a line is drawn in order to separate them from the nonmetals in the periodic table. This line which separates the metalloids from the nonmetals is referred to as the 'amphoteric line'.

There are seven metalloids in the periodic table, which are arranged on the basis of the degree to which they exhibit this sort of metallic behavior.

• Boron (B)
• Silicon (Si)
• Germanium (Ge)
• Arsenic (As)
• Antimony (Sb)
• Tellurium (Te)
• Polonium (Po)

These seven metalloids are placed in Group 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 of the periodic table, arranged in a diagonal format, with boron at the top and polonium at the bottom.

Characteristics

The term metalloid is derived from the combination of the Greek words "metallon", meaning metals, and "eidos", meaning sort. As we mentioned earlier, these elements sport the characteristics of both metals and nonmetals. Boron, for instance, which tends to act as a nonmetal when reacting with sodium, acts like a metal when it reacts with fluorine. Basically, the reactivity of these elements, by and large, depends on the reactivity of the other elements with which the reaction takes place. One can observe a high degree of variations within a particular metalloid. One of the best example is boron nitride, which works as an electrical insulator as well as a good conductor of heat.

Even though metalloids behave like semiconductors, technically referring to them as semiconductors is not correct as the word implies a physical property of a particular material, which may include alloys and compounds as well. You get to see immense variation in the boiling point, melting point, density and other physical properties of these seven elements. These elements also have the tendency of forming amphoteric oxides. Even though elements like silicon, antimony and arsenic have been used by the humans since several years, their importance as metalloids was only ascertained recently.

Owing to these exceptional characteristics, the use of metalloids by humans has increased over the course of time with each of these seven elements being used in various fields. In fact, their uses are as diverse as their characteristics itself. For instance, silicon which is an important constituent of the sand and glass manufacturing industry, also plays a crucial role in the computer and electronics industry.

Going by the current trend, it is but obvious that the use of these chemical elements will continue to soar with time. And, at the same time, you can't rule out the chances of us coming across a new element with characteristics which are more intense than that of boron.