SEK. MEN. KEB. SULTAN ISMAIL, JOHOR BAHRU.

INORGANIC CHEMISTRY/ FORM SIX (SEMESTER 2)/ 2022

⑬
TOPIC : GROUP 14 ELEMENTS

GENERAL
1. Group 14 consists of five elements : carbon, silicon, germanium, tin and lead.
2. All the elements have the valence electronic configuration : ns2 np2.
3. Group 14 elements change from a typical non-metal (carbon) at the top of the group to a typical
metal (lead) at the bottom. Silicon and germanium are metalloids having some properties of
metals and non-metals.
4. Variation of the physical properties of the group 14 elements.

Properties carbon silicon germanium tin lead

Electronic 1s 2s22p2
2
[Ne]3s23p2 [Ar]3d104s24p2 [Kr]4d105s25p2 [Xe]4f 5d106s26p2
14

configuration
Atomic radius Increases
This atomic radius increases down the group due to increase in screening effect
with an increase in nuclear charge and the distance of the valence shell from the
nucleus increases.
1st ionisation Decreases
energy The decrease in first ionisation energy down the group is due to the increase in
atomic radius as well as the screening effect.
But the first ionisation energy of ***lead is slightly higher than that of tin. This
could be due to the less effective screening effect of the electrons in the 4f
orbitals.
Structure Giant covalent molecular Giant metallic lattice
Melting point Decreases
(i) The melting points of carbon, silicon and germanium are high since the bonds
that need to be broken are strong covalent bonds. However, the strength of the
bonds decreases in the order C-C > Si-Si > Ge-Ge as the atomic radius increases in
the order C < Si < Ge. Hence the melting points of the elements decreases in the
order C > Si > Ge.
(ii) The metallic bonds in tin and lead are weaker than the covalent bonds.
Hence, the melting points of tin and lead are lower. As the atomic radius of lead
is larger than tin, the metallic bond in lead should be weaker than in tin. But lead
has a higher melting point than tin because the lead atoms are packed more
closely in the metal lattice while tin has a more open structure.
Electrical Graphite – Semi-conductor conductor
Conductivity conductor

Diamond –
non -
conductor

1
Draw the graphs of trend of atomic radius, trend of melting point, trend of ionisation
energy and trend of electrical conductivity of Group 14 elements.

(a) atomic radius (b) melting point

Group 14 Group 14
Going down Group 14, Going down Group 14.
- nuclear charge increased as proton - C, Si and Ge have giant
number increased covalent structure
- screening effect increased as more - atomic radius : C < Si < Ge
shells are used to fill in incesing electrons - bond length : C-C < Si-Si < Ge-Ge
- effective nuclear charge decreased bond strength : C-C > Si-Si>Ge-Ge
- atomic radius increased - Sn and Pd have strong metal
bond. Pb has higher m.p. as it
has face-center cubic.

(c) ionisation energy (d) electrical conductivity

✗
✗

✗ ×

Group 14 Group 14
Going down Group 14, Going down Group 14,
- nuclear charge increased as proton - C(diamond) is an insulator, since
number increased. All valence electrons are used to
- screening effect increased as more shells form covalent bond to 4 other C
are used to fill in increasing electrons atoms. C(graphite) is conductor
- atomic radius increased since there is an electron
- effective nuclear charge decreased delocalised between the sp2
- Pb is higher than Sn due to ineffective hybridised layer
shielding of 4f orbital. - Si and Ge is semiconductor
- Sn and Pb have metallic bond
where electrons are delocalised
from the metal hence conductor.
2
Chemical Properties of the Group 14 Elements
Stability Of Mo and MO2
1. Since all the elements of group 14 have four valence electrons, they can form
compounds with oxidation states +2 and +4.
2. The oxidation state of +2 involves only the valence p electrons, while the oxidation state
of +4 involves both the valence s and p electrons.
energy energy
___ ___ ___ np

hybridised ___ ___ ___ ___ sp3

___ ns

3. Since the energy required to remove all four valence electrons from an atom of a group
14 element is very high, the +4 oxidation state is usually found in covalent and not ionic
compounds of the elements.
4. From the valence electrons of all elements of Group 14(ns2np2), it is suggested that the
+4 oxidaton state is dominant in the compounds of Group 14, except for that of lead,
which are more stable in +2 oxidation state.
5. From the hybridised , we can tell that the oxidation state +4 predominantly covalent and
the stability of compounds with its oxidation state generally decreases with increasing
atomic size. The decreasing ionisation energy down Group 14 also suggest that ionic
characteristic increased as electrons are easier to be removed down the Group.
The +2 oxidation state for C and Si are covalent, Ge is covalent with ionic character and
Sn and Pb are predominantly ionic.
6. On descending the group, the +4 oxidation state becomes less stable and the +2 state
becomes more stable. This is a result of the inert pair effect which becomes stronger
down the group. The inert pair effect arises from the non-involvement of a pair of
valence ‘s’ electrons in bond formation.
*inert pair effect: for some big atoms like lead, there is a tendency not to use the pair of
s valence electrons for bond formation).

Relative stability +4 state

Stability decreases

Stability increases

+2 state

C Si Ge Sn Pb

3
7. The increasing stability of the +2 oxidation state is illustrated by the stadard electrode
potential of the M4+/M2+ system.
Ge4+(aq) + 2e Ge2+(aq) Eθ = -1.60 V
4+ 2+
Sn (aq) + 2e Sn (aq) Eθ = +0.15 V
Pb4+(aq) + 2e Pb2+(aq) Eθ = +1.69 V
8. As the Eθ values become increasing positive going down the group, the tendency for the
M4+ state to convert to the M4+ state increases.
9. For C, Si, Ge , the +4 oxidation state is very stable compared to the +2 state. The +2 state
of these elements will endeavour to change to the +4 state. Therefore, the +2 state of
these elements are strong reducing agents (electron donors). For example, carbon
monoxide reduces iron (III) oxide to iron and itself gets oxidised to carbon dioxide.
3CO(g) + Fe2O3(s) à 3CO2(g) + 2Fe(s)
10. Lead (Iv) compounds, on the other hand are strong oxidising agents. For example, lead
(IV) oxide oxidises concentrated HCl to Cl2 on heating.
PbO2(s) + 4HCl(aq) à PbCl2(s) + 2H2O(l) + Cl2(g)

Inert pair Effect

1. This is due to more energy is required to remove the third electron from the inner 6s
orbital, making the pair of electrons in 6s ia harder to remove, hence an ‘inert pair’
electrons. Furthermore, due to the presence of 4f and 5d orbitals, electron from 6s is
hard to excite to 6p orbitals. As a result, lead is more preference as +2 oxidation state
instead of +4.
2. The inert pair effect arises because in large atoms such as lead where the d and f
electrons do not shield the valence electrons as well as the inner electrons.
10 2 6 14 10 2 2
82Pb : [Kr] 4d 5s 5p 4f 5d 6s 6p

poor shielding effect

The valence shell s electrons are thus more strongly attracted by the nucleus compared
to the valence shell p electrons.
As a result, the valence shell s electrons are less readily available for chemical reactions
and thus become ‘inert’.

Short Notes :

Group 14 element has valence configuration of ns2np2. All Group 14 elements exist in two
types of oxides, which are monoxide (MO) with +2 oxidation state and dioxide (MO2) with
+4 oxidation state.
- stability of MO increased down Group 14
- as +2 oxidation state stability increased down Group
- Example : CO2 is more stable than CO according to the equation : 2CO + O2 à 2CO2
- In +4 oxidation state, Group 14 elements are bonded to ) by covalent bond.
- Strength of covalent bond become weaker as atomic size increase, decreasing the
stability of +4 oxidation state
- +2 oxidation state changes from covalent to ionic.
- Therefore, PbO is more stable than PbO2 according to the equation : 2PbO2 à 2PbO + O2
- Due to inert pair effect occur in Pb
4
Oxides of Group 14 Elements
1. Group 14 elements has valence configuration of ns2np2. All Group 14 element exist in
two type of oxides, which is MO (monoxide) where M has +2 oxidation state and MO2
(dioxide) where M has +4 oxidation state.
2. On descending Group 14
(a) the bonding of the oxides changes from covalent to ionic.
(b) the acid-base nature of the monoxides (MO) changes from neutral to amphoteric
while that of the dioxides (MO2) changes from acidic to amphoteric;

3. Acid-base nature of oxides and monoxide:

Monoxides Bonding Acid-base nature Equations
CO(g) Covalent Neutral
(simple molecular)
SiO(g) Covalent Neutral
(simple molecular)
GeO(s) Ionic-covalent Amphoteric GeO(s) + 2H+(aq) à Ge2+(aq) + H2O(l)
GeO(s) + OH-(aq) +H2O(l) àGe(OH)32-(aq)

SnO(s) Ionic Amphoteric SnO(s) + 2H+(aq) à Sn2+(aq) + H2O(l)

SnO(s) + 2OH-(aq) +H2O(l) à[Sn(OH)4]2-(aq)

PbO(s) ionic Amphoteric PbO(s) + 2H+(aq) à Pb2+(aq) + H2O(l)

PbO(s) + 4OH-(aq) +H2O(l) à[Pb(OH)6 ]4-(aq)

Dioxide
CO2(g) Covalent Acidic CO2(g) + 2OH-(aq) à CO32-(aq) + H2O(l)
(simple molecular)
SiO2(s) Covalent Acidic SiO2(s) + 2OH-(aq) à SiO 32-(aq) + H2O(l)
(giant molecular)
GeO2(s) Covalent-ionic Amphoteric GeO2(s) + 4H+(aq) à Ge4+(aq) + 2H2O(l)
GeO2(s)+2OH-(aq)+2H2O(l)à[Ge(OH)6]2-(aq)

SnO2(s) Covalent-ionic Amphoteric SnO2(s) + 4H+(aq) à Sn4+(aq) + 2H2O(l)

SnO2(s)+2OH-(aq)+2H2O(l)à[Sn(OH)6]2-(aq)

PbO2(s) Covalent- ionic Amphoteric PbO2(s) + 4H+(aq) à Pb4+(aq) + 2H2O(l)

PbO2(s) + 2OH-(aq) + 2H2O(l)à [Pb(OH)6 ]2-(aq)

Monoxide : neutral à amphoteric

Dioxide : acidic à amphoteric

4. Thermal stability of monoxides and dioxides of Group 14

(a) The monoxides of carbon, tin, lead are thermally stable, whereas the monoxides of silicon
and germanium are not. However when heated in air, CO and SnO oxidize to CO2 and SnO2.
(b) The Group 14 dioxides except PbO2 are all thermally stable and are more stable
than their monoxides which can be oxidized to their oxides.

5
(C) Summary :
Monoxide CO SiO GeO SnO PbO
Thermal Stable Unstable Unstable Stable Most stable
stability (reducing (reducing (reducing
agent) agent) agent)
Dioxide CO2 SiO2 GeO2 SnO2 PbO2
Thermal Stable even at high temperatures Unstable
stability Decomposed
when heated.
2PbO2à2PbO+O2
(oxidizing agent)

Short Notes

Group 14 element has valence configuration of ns2np2. All Group 14 elements exist in two
types of oxides, which are monoxide (MO) with +2 oxidation state and dioxide (MO2) with
+4 oxidation state.

à Basicity of oxide increased when going down Group 14 oxides as the ionic characteristic
increased.
à CO and SiO are neutral oxide
à GeO, SnO and PbO are amphoteric
à As base : MO + 2H+ à M2+ + H2O
à As acid : MO + 2OH- + H2O à [M(OH)4]2-
à CO2 and SiO2 are acid
à SiO2 + 2OH- à SiO32- + H2O
à GeO2 , SnO2 and PbO2 are amphoteric
à As acid : MO2 + 2OH- + 2H2O à M(OH)62-
à As base : MO2 + 4H+ à M4+ + 2H2O

6
Carbon dioxides

1. Four oxides of carbon are known, that are CO, CO2, C3O2 and C12O9. Among them, carbon
monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2), are more well known and are quiet useful in certain
aspects.
2. Carbon monoxide, CO, is produced when carbon dioxide gas, CO2 , is passed over heated carbon
to be reduced to CO.
CO2(g) + C(s) à 2CO(g)
The gas can be also be produced by reducing methanoic acid using concentrated sulphuric acid.
HCOOH(l) ¾conc ¾¾ ¾® CO(g) + H2O(l)
.H 2 SO4

However, in a big scale industrially, carbon monoxide is produced by passing steam over heated
coke. A mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide gases are produced. The end product is
called ‘water gas’ and is used as fuel.
C(s) + H2O(l) à CO(g) + H2(g)

Water gas
3. Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas. Chemically, it is neutral and dissolves partially in water. Carbon
monoxide can exists in three possible structures. The main covalent bond in the molecule is the
hybrid orbital sp.
€: : ICE :O :
* ÷ :O :

or EEO :

All the structures of carbon monoxide above show that oxygen atom possessing lone pair of
electrons. That is why carbon monoxide is a good ligand. In a complex consisting of transition
metals as the centre ion, the carbon monoxide molecules form ligands by donating a lone pair of
electrons through dative bonds. These complexes are known as carbonyl compounds. Some
example of carbonyl compounds are shown below :
co

,
,f0 "

:*
"

( Cox) ]
i [Ni
I \

, co

¥
'

.
"
o co 1 , [ Feccos) ]
It
CO CO

4. Carbon monoxide, though thermally stable (does not easily decompose under heat) is an
unstable molecule in air. It is readily oxidised to CO2 in the presence of oxygen.
2CO(g) + O2(g) à 2CO2(g)
5. Carbon dioxide, CO2, is a colourless and odourless gas. Unlike carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide is
non-toxic. It is slightly acidic and it forms non-polar linear molecule with structure O = C = ). The
main covalent bond is also the hybrid orbital sp. The intermolecular forces are weak van
derWaals forces. Carbon dioxide has a low boiling point and sublimes at low temperatures. At
room temperature and pressure, carbon dioxide exists as a gas.
6. Common use of carbon dioxide includes the following :
(a) Carbon dioxide used in fire extinguishers are stored under high pressure. So, when the gas is suddenly
released into the atmosphere, sudden expansion and cooling of the gas causes a dense layer of
imflammable gas to form on top of the flame, blocking off oxygen supply and thus halts burning.
(b) Carbon dioxide is also used in making aerateds drinks and beverages and in the manufacture
of baking soda, NaHCO3.
(c) Solid CO2 or dry ice is used as refrigerant as well as for producing ‘stage effects’ as it sublimes
immediately to produce a cloudy and misty environment.
7
Some Important Reactions of Oxides of Lead

1. Yellow lead (II) oxide (PbO) is stable to heat. When heated strongly in air it forms red lead (Pb3O4) which
reverts back to lead (II) oxide on further heating.
6PbO(s) + O2(g) 2Pb3O4

2. Lead (II) oxide dissolves in hot dilute nitric acid but not in dilute HCl or dilute H2SO4 because the salts
formed (PbCl2 and PbSO4) are insoluble.
PbO(s) + 2HNO3(aq) à Pb(NO3)2(aq) + H2O(l)
Pb2+(aq) + 2Cl-(aq) à PbCl2(s) (white ppt)
Pb2+(aq) + SO42-(aq) à PbSO4(s) (white ppt)

3. Brown lead (IV) oxide (PbO2) decomposes on heating to form yellow lead (II) oxide (PbO) and oxygen.
PbO2 is a powerful oxidizing agent.
2PbO2(s) à 2PbO(s) + O2(g)
Brown yellow

4. Brown lead (IV) oxide (PbO2) does not react with nitric acid. It reacts with cold concentrated hydrochloric
acid to form a yellow liquid of lead (IV) chloride, which decomposes slowly at room temperature to form a
white precipitate of lead (II) chloride and chlorine gas. So, PbO2 reacts with hot concentrated hydrochloric
acid to form a white precipitate of lead (II) chloride and chlorine gas is given off.
When cold :
PbO(s) + 4HCl(aq) à PbCl4(l) + 2H2O(l)
Brown yellow liquid

At room temperature :
PbCl4(l) à PbCl2(s) + Cl2(g)
yellow liquid white ppt

Hot conc. HCl :

PbO2(s) + 4HCl(aq) à PbCl2(s) + Cl2(g) + 2H2O(l)

5. Red Pb3O4 (trilead tetraoxide) behaves in chemical reactions as if it is a mixture of 2PbO and PbO2.
Hence, with hot dilute nitric acid, the PbO part dissolves to form aqueous lead (II) nitrate while the PbO2
does not, resulting in a colourless solution with a brown solid.

Pb3O4(s) + 4HNO3(aq) à 2Pb(NO3)2(aq) + 2H2O(l) + PbO2(s)

red solid brown solid

PbO Pb3O4 PbO2

(yellow heat in air (red solid) dilute HNO3/heat (dark brown
solid) solid)

cold conc. HCl < 50C

PbCl2 + Cl2
PbCl4 white yellow
Yellow liquid > 50C solid green
gas

8
 Pb(NO3)2(aq)
Contains
Pb2+(aq)

+ Cl-(aq)

+ I-(aq)

+ SO2-(aq)

PbCl2
White ppt

PbI2 + Cr2O4(aq)
yellow ppt

PbSO4
White ppt
PbCr2O4
yellow ppt

PbO(s) à yellow solid

PbO2(s) à brown solid
PbCl2(s) à white solid
PbCl4(s) à yellow liquid

9
10
11
12
Chlorides of Group 14 Elements

1. (a) Group 14 elements form dichlorides of formula MCl2 and tetrachlorides of formula MCl4.
(b) On descending Group 14, the tetrachlorides become less stable and the dichlorides become
more stable.
(c) The increasing stability of the dichlorides (+2 oxidation state) is due to the increasing inert
pair effect.

2. The tetrachlorides are

(a) simple non-polar covalent molecules with a tetrahedral shape.
(b) volatile liquids at room temperature . their low melting and boiling points are due to the
weak van der waals forces between the molecules.
(c) Generally, the melting points and boiling points generally increases down the group as the
size of the molecules increases.

3. Thermal stability of the tetrachlorides

(a) The thermal stability of nthe tetrachlorides decreases down the group due to the weakening
of the covalent M – Cl bond. This is because on descending the group
(i) the atomic radius of the element increases;
(ii) the length of the M – Cl bond increases;
(iii) the M – Cl bond strength decreases

(b) (i) CCl4, SiCl4 and GeCl4 do not decompose on; even at high temperatures.
(ii) SnCl4 decomposes to tin (II) chloride and chlorine gas when heated :
SnCl4(l) à SnCl2(s) + Cl2(g)
(iii) PbCl4 is only stable at temperatures < 50C. It decomposes at room temperature to
lead (II) chloride and chlorine :
PbCl4(l) à PbCl2(s) + Cl2(g)

4. Hydrolysis of the tetrachlorides

(a) All tetrachlorides (except CCl4) are easily hydrolysed by water to form the respective oxides
accompanied by the evolution of white fumes of hydrogen chloride.
MCl4(l) + 2H2O(l) à MO2(s) + 4HCl(g)
e.g. SiCl4(l) + 2H2O(l) à SiO2(s) + 4HCl(g)

(b) The mechanism of hydrolysis is SiCl4 , GeCl4 , SnCl4 and PbCl4 (represented by MCl4) is as
follows :
(i) The M atom uses its empty valence d orbitals shell to form coordinate bonds with water
molecules.

MCl4(l) + 2H2O(l) à
¥
*
m ◦

(ii) The octahedral complex formed is not stable and decomposes quickly evolving hydrogen
chloride.

"
ME or
"
è MO2(s) + 4HCl(g)
" "
H / '
c, H
a
13
 (c) Tetrachloromethane (carbon tetrachloride – CCl4) is not hydrolysed by water because
(i) the carbon atom does not have d orbitals in its valence shell (no 2d) to expand
its octet. So it cannot accept lone pairs of electrons from the oxygen atoms in
the water molecules to form coordinate bonds.

(ii) The big chlorine atoms surrounding the very small central carbon atom shield
its effectively from any attack by water molecules.

Freons

1. Freon are chlorofluorocarbon compounds (also known as CFC’s) that can be obtained
from tetrachloromethane by substituting one or more of the chlorine atoms by fluorine
atoms. This can be done by reacting tetrachloromethane with hydrogen fluoride in the
presence of a catalyst.
e.g. CCl4 + HF à CFCl3 + HCl

2. Example of freons are CFCl3 , CF2Cl2 and CF3Cl

3. Freons are inert, volatile, non-toxic, non-corrosive, non-inflammable and easily liquefied.
There are used mainly as coolants in refrigerators and air – conditioners, as aerosol
propellants in spray cans, and fire –extinguishers.

4. Excessive use of freons results in depletion of the ozone layer.

5. Since freons are inert and very stable, they remain in the atmosphere. Over time, they
diffuse into the stratosphere. In the presence of ultraviolet light, freons dissociate to
form the chlorine radical which then reacts with ozone to form an oxygen molecule and
regenerating a chlorine radical, resulting in a chain reaction.

(freons dissociate in the presence of UV light to form chlorine radicals Cl .)

(some ozone molecules also dissociate to form oxygen molecule and atom)

14
Cations of Group 14 Elements In Aqueous Solutions

1. Carbon and silicon do not form simple cations as the ionisation energy to remove all two
or four valence electrons is very high ( as the atoms are small).

2. From the standard electrode potentials

Ge4+ + 2e Ge2+ Eθ = - 1.6 V
Sn4+ + 2e Sn2+ Eθ = + 0.15 V
Pb4+ + 2e Pb2+ Eθ = + 1.80 V

It can be deduced that in aqueous solutions :

(a) The stability of the M2+ ions decreases in the order Ge4+ > Sn4+ > Pb4+
(b) The stability of the M2+ ions increases in the order Ge2+ < Sn2+ < Pb2+
(c) In aqueous solution Sn2+ is only slightly more stable than Sn4+. So Sn2+ can be
oxidised by stronger oxidising agents like acidified KMnO4
(d) Pb2+ is more stable than Pb4+

3. As the inert pair effect is less significant in the Sn2+ ion, it can further lose two s electrons
to form Sn4+. So aqueous solutions of Sn2+ ions can function as a reducing agent when
reacted with the appropriate oxidising agent. For example :
Sn2+(aq) + 2Fe3+(aq) à Sn4+(aq) + 2Fe2+(aq)
Sn2+(aq) + I2(aq) à Sn4+(aq) + 2I-(aq)

4. Pb2+ ion is more stable than the Pb4+ ion in aqueous solution because a more significant
inert pair effect. Beside, the Pb2+ ion is larger and less highly charged than Pb4+ ion. With
its lower charge density, the Pb2+ ion has lower polarising power than the Pb4+ ion. So,
the Pb2+ ion will be more stable as it is not so easily hydrolysed by water.

15
16
 -

-0 0
-

Oj _ On /
◦

si si -
-

o
i o Si 0
-

-011
-

◦
- -

Si
to
_-
o
!
-

-0 O ' '
o si

o/\o
-
_

Different Type of Silicates

1. Primary structural unit silicates with discrete anions

(a) Simple silicate (b) Pyrosilicate (c) Cyclic silicates

(i) Contains simple, discrete SiO44- (i) Contains discrete Si2O76- (i) Contains discrete Si3O96-
anions where the metal anions formed when two anions formed when
cations are surrounded by SiO44- units link by sharing three SiO44- units link
the silicate anions. One oxygen atom. together, each SiO44-
(ii) Example : zircon, ZrSiO4 (ii) Examplke : Ca2MgSi2O7 unit sharing two
oxygen atoms forming
a ring structure.
(ii) Empirical formula
: SiO32-
(iii) Example : BaTiSi3O9

2. Chain Silicates

There are two main types of chain silicates : the pyroxenes, which contain single strand chains
and the amphiboles which contain double-strand, cross-linked chains.
(a) Pyroxenes (single chain) :
(i) Composition : (SiO3)n2n-
Empirical formula : SiO32-
Each SiO44- unit is linked to two other SiO44- units, sharing two oxygen atoms, forming a
chain.
(ii) Example : MgSiO3
(The empirical formula of the anion, SiO32- in a pyroxene is the same as that in a silicate
with a cyclic anion where two oxygen atoms for each SiO44- unit are shared) -

Is
-

◦
'

◦ ° /
-
is , ,

' ' /
'
-0 ◦

9g
O
/ 's ; /
,
/
o/\o
-
-
-

-0
(b) Amphiboles (double chains)
(i) Composition : (Si4O11)n6-
Empirical formula : Si4O116-
The tetrahedral SiO44- units link together, alternately sharing two or three oxygen
atoms, that is every other unit in a single chain sharing a third oxygen atom with an
adjoining chain.
(ii) Examples : The asbestos minerals

17
 (c) In both the pyroxenes and the amphiboles the silicate anion chains lie parallel and are
held together by the cations which lie between them. The Si-O bonds in the chains are
very strong whereas the electrostatic forces between the chains are relatively weak.
Hence these substances cleave readily in directions parallel to the chains (asbestos is
fibrous, a characteristic property of an amphibole).

(b) In the sheet silicates structures, the sheets are bonded weakly together by the cations
which lie between them. Hence such substances cleave readily into thin sheets (flaky : a
property of mica). The sheets also slide easily over one another making silicates like talcum
soft and slippery.

(c) Clay minerals are sheet silicates containing aluminium ions, called hydrated
aluminosilicates. In aluminosilicates some of the silicon atoms are substituted by aluminium
atoms. Clay is built from tetrahedral Si2O52- sheets and octahedral sheets consisting of units
of Al3+ ions surrounded by six oxide or hydroxyl ions.

(i) In kaolinite clay, tetrahedral sheets and octahedral sheets are arranged alternately. This
is 1:1 clay. The layers are held close together by hydrogen bonds. It is difficult for water
to enter the space between the layers, so kaolinite does not expand when wet.

tetrahedral sheet
octahedral sheet
hydrogen bond
tetrahedral sheet
octahedral sheet

(ii) In montmorillonite clay, each octahedral sheet is sandwiched between two tetrahedral
sheets. This is a 2 : 1 clay. No hydrogen bond is present between the layers, so water
can easily entrr the space between the layers causing oit to expand. (When dry, the clay
will crack).
tetrahedral sheet
octahedral sheet
tetrahedral sheet

tetrahedral sheet
octahedral sheet
tetrahedral sheet

18
4. Framework silicates
(a) These are three dimensional giant structures where all four oxygen atoms in the SiO44- are
shared.
(i) Composition : (SiO2)n
Empirical formula : SiO2
(ii) Example : quartz

(b) The framework structure is a neutral lattice or giant molecular structure with strong covalent
bonds holding the siliconand oxygen atoms together. Hence framework structures like quartz
are very hard.

Uses Of Silicates
1. Silica (framework silicate) (SiO2) is used to make glass.
2. Clay silicates (sheet silicate) are used to make ceramics and cement.
3. Alumininosilicates (zeolites) are used as ion-exchangers. When silicon atoms are substituted
with aluminium atoms, the imbalance in charge is compensated by cations attracted to the
crystal structure. These adsorbed cations can be exchanged with others, hence can be used as
ion ecchangers.
4. Quartz (framework silicate)( SiO2 ) is used as germstones and also to make lens and special optics
(prism etc) and time pieces.
5. Abestos (amphiboles) , non-combustible and fibrious, is used mainly for thermal insulation and
in vehicle brake linings.
6. Talc (sheet silicate) soft, slippery and linery,is used in cosmestics as talcum powder and as a
filler for soap.
7. Mica(sheet silicate) is heat-resistent as well as an electrical insulator. Mica sheets are used to
provide structure for heting wires in heating elements (e.g. iron) and to separate conductors in
cables.

Notes on glasses , please refer to “A”bsolute Guide STPM Chemistry by Chew Sensei , page 168

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