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'''Silicon''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ɪ|l|.|ɪ|.|k|ə|n|}}, {{respell|SILL|ih|kən}})<ref>{{cite web |title=Silicon |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/silicon}}</ref> is a [[chemical element]]; it has [[Symbol (chemistry)|symbol]] '''Si''' and [[atomic number]] 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic lustre, and is a [[Tetravalence|tetravalent]] [[non-metal]] (sometimes considered as a [[metalloid]]) and [[semiconductor]]. It is a member of [[carbon group|group 14]] in the periodic table: [[carbon]] is above it; and [[germanium]], [[tin]], [[lead]], and [[flerovium]] are below it. It is relatively unreactive. Silicon is a significant element that is essential for several physiological and metabolic processes in plants. Silicon is widely used as a semiconductor material in various electrical devices such as [[Transistor|transistors]], [[Solar cell|solar cells]], and [[Integrated circuit|integrated circuits]]. It dominates semiconductor applications due to its low cost, excellent electronic properties, and adaptable physical characteristics. 

Because of its high chemical affinity for oxygen, it was not until 1823 that [[Jöns Jakob Berzelius]] was first able to prepare it and characterize it in pure form. Its [[oxide]]s form a family of [[anion]]s known as [[silicate]]s. Its melting and boiling points of 1414&nbsp;°C and 3265&nbsp;°C, respectively, are the second highest among all the metalloids and nonmetals, being surpassed only by [[boron]].{{efn|Although [[carbon]] remains solid at higher temperatures than silicon, it [[sublimation (phase transition)|sublimes]] at [[atmospheric pressure]] instead of melting and boiling, so it has no melting point and boiling point.}}

Silicon is the eighth [[Abundance of the chemical elements|most common element]] in the universe by mass, but very rarely occurs in its pure form in the Earth's crust. It is widely distributed throughout space in cosmic [[dust]]s, [[Minor planet|planetoids]], and [[planet]]s as various forms of [[silicon dioxide]] (silica) or [[silicate]]s. More than 90% of the Earth's crust is composed of [[silicate minerals]], making silicon the [[Abundance of elements in Earth's crust|second most abundant element]] in the Earth's crust (about 28% by mass), after [[oxygen]].

Most silicon is used commercially without being separated, often with very little processing of the natural minerals. Such use includes industrial construction with [[clay]]s, [[silica sand]], and [[stone]]. Silicates are used in [[Portland cement]] for [[mortar (masonry)|mortar]] and [[stucco]], and mixed with silica sand and [[gravel]] to make [[concrete]] for walkways, foundations, and roads. They are also used in whiteware [[ceramic]]s such as [[porcelain]], and in traditional [[silicate]]-based [[soda–lime glass]] and many other specialty [[glass]]es. Silicon compounds such as [[silicon carbide]] are used as abrasives and components of high-strength ceramics. Silicon is the basis of the widely used synthetic polymers called [[silicone]]s.

The late 20th century to early 21st century has been described as the Silicon Age (also known as the [[Digital Age]] or [[Information Age]]) because of the large impact that elemental silicon has on the modern world economy. The small portion of very highly purified elemental silicon used in [[semiconductor electronics]] (<15%) is essential to the [[transistors]] and [[integrated circuit]] chips used in most modern technology such as [[smartphone]]s and other [[computer]]s. In 2019, 32.4% of the semiconductor market segment was for networks and communications devices, and the semiconductors industry is projected to reach $726.73 billion by 2027.<ref>{{harvnb|Kamal|2022}}</ref>

Silicon is an essential element in biology. Only traces are required by most animals, but some [[sea sponges]] and microorganisms, such as [[diatoms]] and [[radiolaria]], secrete skeletal structures made of silica. Silica is deposited in many plant tissues.<ref name="Cutter">{{cite book|last=Cutter|first=Elizabeth G.|title=Plant Anatomy. Part 1 Cells and Tissues|edition=2nd |publisher=Edward Arnold|place=London|date=1978|isbn=978-0-7131-2639-6}}</ref>

==History==
Owing to the abundance of silicon in the [[Earth's crust]], natural silicon-based materials have been used for thousands of years. Silicon [[rock crystal]]s were familiar to various [[ancient civilizations]], such as the [[predynastic Egypt]]ians who used them for [[beads]] and small [[vases]], as well as the [[Ancient China|ancient Chinese]]. [[Glass]] containing [[silica]] was manufactured by the [[Egyptians]] since at least 1500&nbsp;BC, as well as by the ancient [[Phoenicians]]. Natural [[silicate]] compounds were also used in various types of [[Mortar (masonry)|mortar]] for construction of early human [[dwellings]].<ref name="Britannica">{{cite web |title=Silicon |url=https://www.britannica.com/science/silicon |website=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]] |access-date=22 August 2019}}</ref>

===Discovery===
[[File:Jöns Jacob Berzelius.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Jöns Jacob Berzelius]] discovered silicon in 1823.]]
In 1787, [[Antoine Lavoisier]] suspected that [[silica]] might be an oxide of a fundamental [[chemical element]],<ref>In his table of the elements, Lavoisier listed five "salifiable earths", ''i.e.'', ores that could be made to react with acids to produce salts (''salis'' = salt, in Latin): ''chaux'' (calcium oxide), ''magnésie'' (magnesia, magnesium oxide), ''baryte'' (barium sulfate), ''alumine'' (alumina, aluminium oxide), and ''silice'' (silica, silicon dioxide). About these "elements", Lavoisier speculates: "We are probably only acquainted as yet with a part of the metallic substances existing in nature, as all those which have a stronger affinity to oxygen than carbon possesses, are incapable, hitherto, of being reduced to a metallic state, and consequently, being only presented to our observation under the form of oxyds, are confounded with earths. It is extremely probable that barytes, which we have just now arranged with earths, is in this situation; for in many experiments it exhibits properties nearly approaching to those of metallic bodies. It is even possible that all the substances we call earths may be only metallic oxyds, irreducible by any hitherto known process." – from {{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/elementschemist00kerrgoog/page/n217 |page= 218 |author=Lavoisier |translator= Robert Kerr |title=Elements of Chemistry|edition= 4 |location=Edinburgh, Scotland|publisher= William Creec|year= 1799}} (The original passage appears in: {{cite book|author=Lavoisier|title=Traité Élémentaire de Chimie|location=Paris|publisher= Cuchet |year=1789|volume=1|url= {{google books |plainurl=y |id=hZch3yOrayUC|page=174}} |page=174}})</ref> but the [[chemical affinity]] of silicon for oxygen is high enough that he had no means to reduce the oxide and isolate the element.{{sfn|Greenwood|Earnshaw|1997|p=328}} After an attempt to isolate silicon in 1808, [[Sir Humphry Davy]] proposed the name "'''silicium'''" for silicon, from the Latin {{Lang|la|silex}},<!-- Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source si·lex –noun flint; silica. [Origin: 1585–95; < L silex, s. silic- hard stone, flint, boulder] --> ''silicis'' for flint, and adding the "-ium" ending because he believed it to be a metal.<ref>{{Cite journal|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=Kg9GAAAAMAAJ|page=333}} |title=Electro chemical researches, on the decomposition of the earths; with observations on the metals obtained from the alkaline earths, and on the amalgam procured from ammonia |last=Davy |first=Humphry |date=1808 |publisher=W. Bowyer and J. Nichols |language=en |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London |volume=98 |pages=333–370|bibcode=1808RSPT...98..333D }}. On [{{google books |plainurl=y |id=Kg9GAAAAMAAJ|page=353}} p. 353] Davy coins the name "silicium" : "Had I been so fortunate as to have obtained more certain evidences on this subject, and to have procured the metallic substances I was in search of, I should have proposed for them the names of silicium [silicon], alumium [aluminium], zirconium, and glucium [beryllium]."</ref> Most other languages use transliterated forms of Davy's name, sometimes adapted to local phonology (e.g. [[German language|German]] {{Lang|de|Silizium}}, [[Turkish language|Turkish]] ''{{Lang|tr|silisyum}}'', [[Catalan language|Catalan]] ''{{Lang|ca|silici}}'', [[Armenian language|Armenian]] {{Lang|hy|Սիլիցիում}} or ''Silitzioum''). A few others instead use  a [[calque]] of the Latin root (e.g. [[Russian language|Russian]] {{Lang|ru|кремний}}, from {{Lang|ru|кремень}} "flint"; [[Greek language|Greek]] ''{{Lang|el|πυρίτιο}}'' from {{Lang|el|πυρ}} "fire"; [[Finnish language|Finnish]] {{Lang|fi|pii}} from {{Lang|fi|piikivi}} "flint", [[Czech language|Czech]] {{Lang|cs|křemík}} from {{Lang|cs|křemen}} "quartz", "flint").<ref>{{cite web |url=http://elements.vanderkrogt.net/element.php?sym=si |title=14 Silicon |publisher=Elements.vanderkrogt.net |access-date=2008-09-12}}</ref>

[[Gay-Lussac]] and [[Louis Jacques Thénard|Thénard]] are thought to have prepared impure [[amorphous silicon]] in 1811, through the heating of recently isolated [[potassium]] metal with [[silicon tetrafluoride]], but they did not purify and characterize the product, nor identify it as a new element.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Gay-Lussac|first1=Joseph Louis|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=ruITAAAAQAAJ|page=313}}|title=Recherches physico-chimiques, faites sur la pile: sur la préparation chimique et les propriétés du potassium et du sodium; sur la décomposition de l'acide boracique; sur les acides fluorique, muriatique et muriatique oxigéné; sur l'action chimique de la lumière; sur l'analyse végétale et animale, etc|last2=Thénard|first2=Louis Jacques baron|date=1811|publisher=Deterville|language=fr}} [{{google books |plainurl=y |id=ruITAAAAQAAJ|page=313}} pp. 313–314]; vol. 2, [{{google books |plainurl=y |id=w8YPAAAAQAAJ|page=55
}} pp. 55–65].</ref> Silicon was given its present name in 1817 by Scottish chemist [[Thomas Thomson (chemist)|Thomas Thomson]]. He retained part of Davy's name but added "-on" because he believed that silicon was a [[Nonmetal (chemistry)|nonmetal]] similar to [[boron]] and [[carbon]].<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Thomson|first1=Thomas|url=http://archive.org/details/bub_gb_zVA0AQAAMAAJ|title=A system of chemistry: in four volumes|last2=Baldwin|first2=Charles|last3=Blackwood|first3=William|last4=Baldwin|first4=Cradock|last5=Bell & Bradfute|first5=bookseller|last6=Hodges & McArthur|first6=bookseller|date=1817|publisher=London : Printed for Baldwin, Craddock, and Joy, Paternoster-Row; William Blackwood, and Bell and Bradfute, Edinburgh; and Hodges and Macarthur, Dublin|others=University of Wisconsin - Madison|page= 252}}: "The base of silica has been usually considered as a metal, and called ''silicium''. But as there is not the smallest evidence for its metallic nature, and as it bears a close resemblance to boron and carbon, it is better to class it along with these bodies, and to give it the name of ''silicon''."</ref> In 1824, [[Jöns Jacob Berzelius]] prepared amorphous silicon using approximately the same method as Gay-Lussac (reducing [[potassium fluorosilicate]] with molten potassium metal), but purifying the product to a brown powder by repeatedly washing it.<ref>See
* Berzelius announced his discovery of silicon ("silicium") in: Berzelius, J. (presented: 1823; published: 1824) [https://books.google.com/books?id=pJlPAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA46 "Undersökning af flusspatssyran och dess märkvärdigaste föreningar"] (Investigation of hydrofluoric acid and of its most noteworthy compounds), ''Kongliga Vetenskaps-Academiens Handlingar'' [Proceedings of the Royal Science Academy], '''12''' : 46–98. The isolation of silicon and its characterization are detailed in the section titled "Flussspatssyrad kisseljords sönderdelning med kalium," pp. 46–68.
* The above article was printed in German in: J.J. Berzelius (1824) [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k15086x/f185.image.langEN "''II. Untersuchungen über Flussspathsäure und deren merkwürdigsten Verbindungen''"] (II. Investigations of hydrofluoric acid and its most noteworthy compounds), ''Annalen der Physik'', '''77''': 169–230. The isolation of silicon is detailed in the section titled: [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k15086x/f220.image.langEN "Zersetzung der flussspaths. Kieselerde durch Kalium"] (Decomposition of silicate fluoride by potassium), pp. 204–210.
* The above article was reprinted in French in: Berzelius (1824) [{{google books |plainurl=y |id=eHmstO7CmqAC|page=337}} "Décomposition du fluate de silice par le potassium"] (Decomposition of silica fluoride by potassium), ''Annales de Chimie et de Physique'', '''27''': 337–359.
* Reprinted in English in: {{Cite journal|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=_UwwAAAAIAAJ|page=254}}|title=On the mode of obtaining silicium, and on the characters and properties of that substance |journal=The Philosophical Magazine and Journal: Comprehending Various Branches of Science, the Liberal and Fine Arts, Agriculture, Manufactures, and Commerce|date=1825|publisher=Richard Taylor and Company|language=en|volume=65 |pages=254–267}}</ref> As a result, he is usually given credit for the element's discovery.<ref>{{cite journal |title =The discovery of the elements: XII. Other elements isolated with the aid of potassium and sodium: beryllium, boron, silicon, and aluminum|last =Weeks |first=Mary Elvira |author-link=Mary Elvira Weeks |date=1932 |journal=Journal of Chemical Education|volume=9|issue=8|pages=1386–1412 |bibcode=1932JChEd...9.1386W|doi =10.1021/ed009p1386}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |date=2007 |journal=Russian Journal of Applied Chemistry |doi=10.1134/S1070427207120397 |title=Silicon era |last1=Voronkov |first1 =M.G. |volume=80|pages=2190–2196 |issue=12|s2cid=195240638 }}</ref> The same year, Berzelius became the first to prepare [[silicon tetrachloride]] (SiCl<sub>4</sub>); [[silicon tetrafluoride]] had already been prepared long before in 1771 by [[Carl Wilhelm Scheele]] by dissolving silica in [[hydrofluoric acid]].{{sfn|Greenwood|Earnshaw|1997|p=328}}<ref name="Kipping-1937">{{Cite journal |last=Kipping |first=Frederic Stanley |date=1937-03-01 |title=The bakerian lecture organic derivatives of silicon |journal= Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series A |volume=159 |issue=896 |pages=139–148 |doi=10.1098/rspa.1937.0063|bibcode=1937RSPSA.159..139K |doi-access=free }}</ref> In 1846, J. Von Ebelman synthesized [[tetraethyl orthosilicate]] (Si(OC<sub>2</sub>H<sub>5</sub>)<sub>4</sub>).<ref name="Muller1965">{{Cite journal |last=Muller |first=Richard |date=January 1965 |title=One hundred years of organosilicon chemistry |url=https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ed042p41 |journal=Journal of Chemical Education |language=en |volume=42 |issue=1 |page=41 |doi=10.1021/ed042p41 |bibcode=1965JChEd..42...41M |issn=0021-9584|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Kipping-1937" />

[[File:Silicon single crystal.jpg|thumb|Single crystal of silicon grown by the [[Czochralski process]] used to make integrated circuits]]
Silicon in its more common crystalline form was not prepared until 31 years later, by [[Henri Etienne Sainte-Claire Deville|Deville]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sicius |first=Hermann |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-662-68921-9 |title=Handbook of the Chemical Elements |date=2024 |publisher=Springer Berlin Heidelberg |isbn=978-3-662-68920-2 |location=Berlin, Heidelberg |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-662-68921-9}}</ref> Passing silicon chloride vapors over pure aluminum produced pure, hard octahedral crystals.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wisniak |first=Jaime |date=April 1, 2004 |title=Henri Étienne Sainte-Claire Deville: A Physician Turned Metallurgist |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1361/10599490418271 |journal=Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance |language=en |volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=117–128 |doi=10.1361/10599490418271 |bibcode=2004JMEP...13..117W |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
[[Friedrich Wöhler]] discovered the first volatile hydrides of silicon, synthesising [[trichlorosilane]] in 1857 and [[silane]] itself in 1858, but a detailed investigation of the [[silanes]] was only carried out in the early 20th century by [[Alfred Stock]], despite early speculation on the matter dating as far back as the beginnings of synthetic organic chemistry in the 1830s.{{sfn|Greenwood|Earnshaw|1997|p=330}}<ref>{{harvnb|Greenwood|Earnshaw|1997|pp=337–340}}</ref> Similarly, the first [[organosilicon compound]], tetraethylsilane, was synthesised by [[Charles Friedel]] and [[James Crafts]] in 1863, but detailed characterisation of organosilicon chemistry was only done in the early 20th century by [[Frederic Kipping]].{{sfn|Greenwood|Earnshaw|1997|p=328}}

Starting in the 1920s, the work of [[William Lawrence Bragg]] on [[X-ray crystallography]] elucidated the compositions of the silicates, which had previously been known from [[analytical chemistry]] but had not yet been understood, together with [[Linus Pauling]]'s development of [[crystal chemistry]] and [[Victor Goldschmidt]]'s development of [[geochemistry]]. The middle of the 20th century saw the development of the chemistry and industrial use of [[siloxane]]s and the growing use of [[silicone]] [[polymer]]s, [[elastomer]]s, and [[resin]]s. In the late 20th century, the complexity of the crystal chemistry of [[silicide]]s was mapped, along with the [[solid-state physics]] of [[Doping (semiconductor)|doped]] [[semiconductor]]s.{{sfn|Greenwood|Earnshaw|1997|p=328}}

===Silicon semiconductors===
The first [[semiconductor devices]] did not use silicon, but used [[galena]], including German [[physicist]] [[Ferdinand Braun]]'s [[crystal detector]] in 1874 and Indian physicist [[Jagadish Chandra Bose]]'s [[radio]] [[crystal detector]] in 1901.<ref name="computerhistory-timeline">{{cite web |title=Timeline |url=https://www.computerhistory.org/siliconengine/timeline/ |website=The Silicon Engine |publisher=[[Computer History Museum]] |access-date=22 August 2019}}</ref><ref name="computerhistory-1901">{{cite web |title=1901: Semiconductor Rectifiers Patented as "Cat's Whisker" Detectors |url=https://www.computerhistory.org/siliconengine/semiconductor-rectifiers-patented-as-cats-whisker-detectors/ |website=The Silicon Engine |publisher=[[Computer History Museum]] |access-date=23 August 2019}}</ref> The first silicon semiconductor device was a silicon radio crystal detector, developed by American engineer [[Greenleaf Whittier Pickard]] in 1906.<ref name="computerhistory-1901" />

In 1940, [[Russell Ohl]] discovered the [[p–n junction]] and [[photovoltaic effect]]s in silicon. In 1941, techniques for producing high-purity [[germanium]] and [[silicon crystal]]s were developed for [[radar]] [[microwave]] detector crystals during [[World War II]].<ref name="computerhistory-timeline" /> In 1947, physicist [[William Shockley]] theorized a [[Field-effect transistor|field-effect amplifier]] made from germanium and silicon, but he failed to build a working device, before eventually working with germanium instead. The first working transistor was a [[point-contact transistor]] built by [[John Bardeen]] and [[Walter Brattain]] later that year while working under Shockley.<ref>{{cite web |title=1947: Invention of the Point-Contact Transistor |url=https://www.computerhistory.org/siliconengine/invention-of-the-point-contact-transistor/ |website=The Silicon Engine |publisher=Computer History Museum |access-date=23 August 2019}}</ref> In 1954, [[physical chemist]] [[Morris Tanenbaum]] fabricated the first silicon [[junction transistor]] at [[Bell Labs]].<ref>{{cite web |title=1954: Morris Tanenbaum fabricates the first silicon transistor at Bell Labs |url=https://www.computerhistory.org/siliconengine/silicon-transistors-offer-superior-operating-characteristics/ |website=The Silicon Engine |publisher=Computer History Museum |access-date=23 August 2019}}</ref> In 1955, [[Carl Frosch]] and Lincoln Derick at Bell Labs accidentally discovered that [[silicon dioxide]] ({{chem|SiO|2}}) could be grown on silicon.<ref>{{Cite patent|number=US2802760A|title=Oxidation of semiconductive surfaces for controlled diffusion|gdate=1957-08-13|invent1=Lincoln|invent2=Frosch|inventor1-first=Derick|inventor2-first=Carl J.|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US2802760A}}</ref><ref name="Bassett22">{{cite book |last1=Bassett |first1=Ross Knox |title=To the Digital Age: Research Labs, Start-up Companies, and the Rise of MOS Technology |date=2007 |publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]] |isbn=978-0-8018-8639-3 |pages=22–23 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UUbB3d2UnaAC&pg=PA22}}</ref> By 1957 Frosch and Derick published their work on the first manufactured {{chem|SiO|2}} semiconductor oxide transistor: the first planar transistors, in which drain and source were adjacent at the same surface.<ref name="Frosch-1957">{{Cite journal |last1=Frosch |first1=C. J. |last2=Derick |first2=L |date=1957 |title=Surface Protection and Selective Masking during Diffusion in Silicon |url=https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1149/1.2428650 |journal=Journal of the Electrochemical Society |language=en |volume=104 |issue=9 |page=547 |doi=10.1149/1.2428650|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In 1959, [[Robert Noyce]] developed the first silicon-based integrated circuit at Fairchild Semiconductor, building on prior work by [[Jack Kilby]] that relied on germanium as the semiconductor.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wolfe |first=Tom |date=December 1, 1983 |title=The Tinkerings of Robert Noyce |url=https://classic.esquire.com/article/share/58ff278a-21da-4ee4-a446-b7f451b90275 |access-date=2026-01-26 |website=Esquire |language=en-US |issn=0194-9535}}</ref>

===Silicon Age===
[[file:MOSFET Structure.png|thumb|The [[MOSFET]], also known as the MOS transistor, is the key component of the Silicon Age. The first silicon semiconductor oxide planar transistor was made by Frosch and Derick in 1957.<ref name="Frosch-1957"/>]]

The "Silicon Age" refers to the late 20th century to early 21st century.<ref name="Feldman">{{cite book |last1=Feldman |first1=Leonard C. |title=Fundamental Aspects of Silicon Oxidation |date=2001 |publisher=[[Springer Science & Business Media]] |isbn=978-3-540-41682-1 |pages=1–11 |chapter=Introduction |author1-link=Leonard Feldman |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sV4y2-mWGNIC&pg=PA1}}</ref><ref name="Dabrowski">{{cite book |last1=Dabrowski |first1=Jarek |last2=Müssig |first2=Hans-Joachim |chapter=1.2. The Silicon Age |title=Silicon Surfaces and Formation of Interfaces: Basic Science in the Industrial World |date=2000 |publisher=[[World Scientific]] |isbn=978-981-02-3286-3 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/siliconsurfacesf0000dabr/page/3 3–13] |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZlefXcP3tQAC&pg=PA3 |url=https://archive.org/details/siliconsurfacesf0000dabr/page/3 }}</ref><ref name="Siffert">{{cite book |last1=Siffert |first1=Paul |last2=Krimmel |first2=Eberhard |chapter=Preface |title=Silicon: Evolution and Future of a Technology |date=2013 |publisher=[[Springer Science & Business Media]] |isbn=978-3-662-09897-4 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qxj_CAAAQBAJ&pg=PR5}}</ref> This is due to silicon being the dominant material used in electronics and information technology (also known as the [[Digital Age]] or [[Information Age]]), similar to how the [[Stone Age]], [[Bronze Age]] and [[Iron Age]] were defined by the dominant materials during their respective [[Three-age system|ages of civilization]].<ref name="Feldman" />

Because silicon is an important element in high-technology semiconductor devices, many places in the world bear its name. For example, the [[Santa Clara Valley]] in California acquired the nickname [[Silicon Valley]], as the element is the base material in the [[semiconductor industry]] there. Since then, many other places have been similarly dubbed, including [[Silicon Wadi]] in Israel; [[Silicon Forest]] in Oregon; [[Silicon Hills]] in Austin, Texas; [[Silicon Slopes]] in Salt Lake City, Utah; [[Silicon Saxony]] in Germany; [[Bangalore#Economy|Silicon Valley]] in India; [[Mexicali#Silicon Border|Silicon Border]] in Mexicali, Mexico; <!-- [[Silicon Triangle]], --> [[Silicon Fen]] in Cambridge, England; [[Old Street Roundabout#Silicon Roundabout|Silicon Roundabout]] in London; [[Silicon Glen]] in Scotland; [[Silicon Gorge]] in Bristol, England; [[Silicon Alley]] in New York City; [[Silicon Beach]] in Los Angeles;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.innovationjournalism.org/ij4/presentations/turouskalidavidnordfors.pdf |title=The role of journalism in creating the metaphor of Silicon Valley |last1=Uskali |first1=T. |last2=Nordfors |first2=D. |date=23 May 2007  |work=Innovation Journalism 4 Conference, Stanford University|access-date=2016-08-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120907002807/http://www.innovationjournalism.org/ij4/presentations/turouskalidavidnordfors.pdf |archive-date=2012-09-07 }}</ref> and [[Dubai Silicon Oasis]] in Dubai.

==Characteristics==
===Physical and atomic===
[[File:Silicon-unit-cell-3D-balls.png|thumb|upright=0.8|Silicon crystallizes in a [[diamond]] [[Cubic crystal system|cubic crystal structure]] by forming [[orbital hybridization|sp<sup>3</sup> hybrid orbitals]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Silicon and Germanium|url=http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Solids/sili2.html|access-date=2021-06-07|website=hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu}}</ref>
]]
A silicon atom has fourteen [[electrons]]. In the ground state, they are arranged in the electron configuration [Ne]3s<sup>2</sup>3p<sup>2</sup>. Of these, four are [[valence electron]]s, occupying the 3s orbital and two of the 3p orbitals. Like the other members of its group, the lighter [[carbon]] and the heavier [[germanium]], [[tin]], and [[lead]], it has the same number of valence electrons as valence orbitals: hence, it can complete its [[octet rule|octet]] and obtain the stable [[noble gas]] configuration of [[argon]] by forming [[orbital hybridization|sp<sup>3</sup> hybrid orbitals]], forming tetrahedral {{chem|SiX|4}} derivatives where the central silicon atom shares an electron pair with each of the four atoms it is bonded to.<ref name="King0">{{harvnb|King|1995|pp=xiii–xviii}}</ref> The first four [[ionisation energy|ionisation energies]] of silicon are 786.3, 1576.5, 3228.3, and 4354.4&nbsp;kJ/mol respectively; these figures are high enough to preclude the possibility of simple cationic chemistry for the element. Following [[periodic trend]]s, its single-bond covalent radius of 117.6&nbsp;pm is intermediate between those of carbon (77.2&nbsp;pm) and germanium (122.3&nbsp;pm). The hexacoordinate ionic radius of silicon may be considered to be 40&nbsp;pm, although this must be taken as a purely notional figure given the lack of a simple {{chem|Si|4+}} cation in reality.{{sfn|Greenwood|Earnshaw|1997|pp=372}}

====Electrical====
At standard temperature and pressure, silicon is a shiny [[semiconductor]] with a bluish-grey metallic lustre; as typical for semiconductors, its resistivity drops as temperature rises. This arises because silicon has a small energy gap ([[band gap]]) between its highest occupied energy levels (the valence band) and the lowest unoccupied ones (the conduction band). The [[Fermi level]] is about halfway between the [[valence and conduction bands]] and is the energy at which a state is as likely to be occupied by an electron as not. Hence pure silicon is effectively an insulator at room temperature. However, [[Doping (semiconductor)|doping]] silicon with a [[pnictogen]] such as [[phosphorus]], [[arsenic]], or [[antimony]] introduces one extra electron per dopant and these may then be excited into the conduction band either thermally or photolytically, creating an [[Extrinsic semiconductor#N-type semiconductors|n-type semiconductor]]. Similarly, doping silicon with a [[boron group|group 13 element]] such as [[boron]], [[aluminium]], or [[gallium]] results in the introduction of acceptor levels that trap electrons that may be excited from the filled valence band, creating a [[Extrinsic semiconductor#P-type semiconductors|p-type semiconductor]].{{sfn|Greenwood|Earnshaw|1997|p=332}} <!-- this could be moved to electronic applications --> Joining n-type silicon to p-type silicon creates a [[p–n junction]] with a common Fermi level; electrons flow from n to p, while holes flow from p to n, creating a voltage drop. This p–n junction thus acts as a [[diode]] that can rectify alternating current that allows current to pass more easily one way than the other. A [[transistor]] is an n–p–n junction, with a thin layer of weakly p-type silicon between two n-type regions. Biasing the emitter through a small forward voltage and the collector through a large reverse voltage allows the transistor to act as a [[triode]] amplifier.{{sfn|Greenwood|Earnshaw|1997|p=332}}

====Crystal structure====
{{Main|Allotropes of silicon}}
Silicon crystallises in a giant covalent structure at standard conditions, specifically in a [[diamond cubic]] crystal lattice ([[:Category:Crystals in space group 227|space group 227]]). It thus has a high melting point of 1414&nbsp;°C, as a lot of energy is required to break the strong covalent bonds and melt the solid. Upon melting silicon contracts as the long-range tetrahedral network of bonds breaks up and the voids in that network are filled in, similar to water ice when hydrogen bonds are broken upon melting. It does not have any thermodynamically stable allotropes at standard pressure, but several other crystal structures are known at higher pressures. The general trend is one of increasing [[coordination number]] with pressure, culminating in a [[hexagonal close-packed]] allotrope at about 40&nbsp;[[gigapascal]]s known as Si–VII (the standard modification being Si–I). An allotrope called BC8 (or bc8), having a [[body-centred cubic]] lattice with eight atoms per primitive unit cell ([[:Category:Crystals in space group 206|space group 206]]), can be created at high pressure and remains metastable at low pressure. Its properties have been studied in detail.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Vladimir E. Dmitrienko and Viacheslav A. Chizhikov |title=An infinite family of bc8-like metastable phases in silicon |journal=Phys. Rev. B |year=2020 |volume=101 |issue=24 |article-number=245203 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevB.101.245203 |arxiv=1912.10672 |bibcode=2020PhRvB.101x5203D |s2cid=209444444 }}</ref>

Silicon boils at 3265&nbsp;°C: this, while high, is still lower than the temperature at which its lighter congener [[carbon]] sublimes (3642&nbsp;°C) and silicon similarly has a lower [[heat of vaporisation]] than carbon, consistent with the fact that the Si–Si bond is weaker than the C–C bond.{{sfn|Greenwood|Earnshaw|1997|p=331}}

It is also possible to construct [[silicene]] layers analogous to [[graphene]].<ref name="Aufray2010">{{Cite journal |last1=Aufray |first1=B. |last2=Kara |first2=A. | last3=Vizzini |first3=S. B. |last4=Oughaddou |first4=H. |last5=LéAndri |first5=C. |last6=Ealet |first6=B. |last7=Le Lay |first7=G. |doi=10.1063/1.3419932 |title=Graphene-like silicon nanoribbons on Ag(110): A possible formation of silicene |journal=Applied Physics Letters |volume=96 |issue=18 |page=183102 |year=2010 | bibcode=2010ApPhL..96r3102A|url=https://stars.library.ucf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7963&context=facultybib2010 |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Lalmi2010">{{Cite journal |last1=Lalmi |first1=B. |last2=Oughaddou |first2=H. |last3=Enriquez |first3=H. |last4=Kara |first4=A. |last5=Vizzini |first5=S. B. |last6=Ealet |first6=B. N. |last7=Aufray |first7=B. |doi=10.1063/1.3524215 |title=Epitaxial growth of a silicene sheet |journal=Applied Physics Letters |volume=97 |issue=22 |page=223109 |year=2010 |bibcode=2010ApPhL..97v3109L |arxiv=1204.0523|s2cid=118490651 }}</ref>

===Isotopes===
{{Main|Isotopes of silicon}}
Naturally occurring silicon is composed of three stable [[isotope]]s, <sup>28</sup>Si (92.24%), <sup>29</sup>Si (4.67%), and <sup>30</sup>Si (3.07%).{{NUBASE2020|ref}} Out of these, only the odd <sup>29</sup>Si is of use in [[NMR]] and [[EPR spectroscopy]],<ref>{{cite web| url =http://www.nyu.edu/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/aj39/NMRmap.cgi|access-date =2011-10-20| title =Interactive NMR Frequency Map| author =Jerschow, Alexej|publisher =New York University}}</ref> and it has nuclear spin (''I'' ={{sfrac|1|2}}).{{sfn|Greenwood|Earnshaw|1997|p=330}} All three are produced in [[Type Ia supernovae]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Seitenzahl |first1=Ivo Rolf |last2=Townsley |first2=Dean M. |title=Handbook of Supernovae |chapter=Nucleosynthesis in Thermonuclear Supernovae |date=2017 |pages=1955–1978 |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-21846-5_87|arxiv=1704.00415 |bibcode=2017hsn..book.1955S |isbn=978-3-319-21845-8 |s2cid=118993185 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Khokhlov |first1=A. M. |last2=Oran |first2=E. S. |last3=Wheeler |first3=J. C. |title=Deflagration-to-Detonation Transition in Thermonuclear Supernovae |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |date=April 1997 |volume=478 |issue=2 |pages=678–688 |doi=10.1086/303815|arxiv=astro-ph/9612226 |bibcode=1997ApJ...478..678K |s2cid=53486905 }}</ref> through the [[oxygen-burning process]], with <sup>28</sup>Si being made as part of the [[alpha process]] and hence the most abundant. The fusion of <sup>28</sup>Si with alpha particles by [[photodisintegration]] rearrangement in stars is known as the [[silicon-burning process]]; it is the last stage of [[stellar nucleosynthesis]] before the rapid collapse and violent explosion of the star in question in a [[type II supernova]].<ref name="Cameron">{{cite journal|last1=Cameron |first1=A.G.W. |year=1973 |title=Abundance of the Elements in the Solar System |url=http://pubs.giss.nasa.gov/docs/1973/1973_Cameron_1.pdf |journal=Space Science Reviews |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=121–146 |doi=10.1007/BF00172440 |bibcode=1973SSRv...15..121C |s2cid=120201972 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111021030549/http://pubs.giss.nasa.gov/docs/1973/1973_Cameron_1.pdf |archive-date=2011-10-21 }}</ref>

Twenty-two [[radioisotopes]] have been characterized, the two stablest being <sup>32</sup>Si with a [[half-life]] of about 157&nbsp;years, and <sup>31</sup>Si with a half-life of 2.62&nbsp;hours. All the remaining [[Radioactive decay|radioactive]] isotopes have half-lives that are less than seven seconds, and the majority of these have half-lives that are less than one-tenth of a second.{{NUBASE2020|ref}} <sup>32</sup>Si undergoes low-energy [[beta decay]] to [[phosphorus-32|<sup>32</sup>P]] and then stable <sup>32</sup>[[sulfur|S]]. <sup>31</sup>Si may be produced by the [[neutron activation]] of natural silicon and is thus useful for quantitative analysis; it can be easily detected by its characteristic beta decay to stable <sup>31</sup>[[phosphorus|P]], in which the emitted electron carries up to 1.48&nbsp;[[electronvolt|MeV]] of energy.{{sfn|Greenwood|Earnshaw|1997|p=330}}

The known isotopes of silicon range in [[mass number]] from 22 to 45. The most common [[decay mode]] of the isotopes with mass numbers lower than the three stable isotopes is [[positron emission|β<sup>+</sup> decay]] to [[aluminium isotopes]], and the most common decay mode for the heavier unstable isotopes is beta decay to [[phosphorus isotopes]]  as decay products.{{NUBASE2020|ref}} <sup>46</sup>Si was reported in collisions of <sup>70</sup>Zn with Be in experiments at the [[Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory]].<ref name="45Si,46Si">{{cite journal | last1=Yoshimoto | first1=Masahiro | last2=Suzuki | first2=Hiroshi | last3=Fukuda | first3=Naoki | last4=Takeda | first4=Hiroyuki | last5=Shimizu | first5=Yohei | last6=Yanagisawa | first6=Yoshiyuki | last7=Sato | first7=Hiromi | last8=Kusaka | first8=Kensuke | last9=Ohtake | first9=Masao | last10=Yoshida | first10=Koichi | last11=Michimasa | first11=Shin'ichiro | title=Discovery of Neutron-Rich Silicon Isotopes <sup>45,46</sup>Si | journal=Progress of Theoretical and Experimental Physics | publisher=Oxford University Press (OUP) | volume=2024 | issue=10 | year=2024 | article-number=101D01 | issn=2050-3911 | doi=10.1093/ptep/ptae155 | doi-access=free}}</ref>

Silicon can enter the oceans through groundwater and [[riverine]] transport. Large fluxes of groundwater input have an isotopic composition which is distinct from riverine silicon inputs. Isotopic variations in groundwater and riverine transports contribute to variations in oceanic <sup>30</sup>Si values. Currently, there are substantial differences in the isotopic values of deep water in the world's [[Oceanic basin|ocean basins]]. Between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, there is a deep water <sup>30</sup>Si gradient of greater than 0.3 parts per thousand. <sup>30</sup>Si is most commonly associated with productivity in the oceans.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Reynolds |first1=B. C. |title=Modeling the modern marine δ 30 Si distribution: MODELING THE MODERN MARINE δ 30 Si DISTRIBUTION |journal=Global Biogeochemical Cycles |date=June 2009 |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=1–13 |doi=10.1029/2008GB003266|s2cid=128652214 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

==Chemistry and compounds==
{{Main|Silicon compounds}}

{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; margin-top:0; margin-left:1em; text-align:center; font-size:10pt; line-height:11pt; width:25%;"
|+ style="margin-bottom: 5px;" | C–X and Si–X bond energies (kJ/mol){{sfn|Greenwood|Earnshaw|1997|p=33}}
|-
! {{nowrap|X {{=}}}}
! C
! Si
! H
! F
! Cl
! Br
! I
! O–
! N<
|-
! {{nowrap|C–X}}
| 368
| 360
| 435
| 453
| 351
| 293
| 216
| ~360
| ~305
|-
! {{nowrap|Si–X}}
| 360
| 340
| 393
| 565
| 381
| 310
| 234
| 452
| 322
|}
Crystalline bulk silicon is rather inert, but becomes more reactive at high temperatures. Like its neighbour aluminium, silicon forms a thin, continuous surface layer of [[silicon dioxide]] ({{chem|SiO|2}}) that protects the material beneath from oxidation. Because of this, silicon does not measurably react with the air below 900&nbsp;°C. Between 950&nbsp;°C and 1160&nbsp;°C, the formation rate of the [[vitreous lustre|vitreous]] dioxide rapidly increases, and when 1400&nbsp;°C is reached, atmospheric [[nitrogen]] also reacts to give the nitrides SiN and [[Silicon nitride|{{chem|Si|3|N|4}}]]. Silicon reacts with gaseous [[sulfur]] at 600&nbsp;°C and gaseous [[phosphorus]] at 1000&nbsp;°C. This oxide layer nevertheless does not prevent reaction with the [[halogen]]s; [[fluorine]] attacks silicon vigorously at room temperature, [[chlorine]] does so at about 300&nbsp;°C, and [[bromine]] and [[iodine]] at about 500&nbsp;°C. Silicon does not react with most aqueous acids, but is oxidised and complexed by [[hydrofluoric acid]] mixtures containing either [[chlorine]] or [[nitric acid]] to form [[Hexafluorosilicic acid|hexafluorosilicates]]. It readily dissolves in hot aqueous alkali to form [[silicate]]s.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Stapf|first1=André|chapter=Wafer Cleaning, Etching, and Texturization|date=2019|chapter-url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-662-56472-1_17|title=Handbook of Photovoltaic Silicon|pages=311–358|editor-last=Yang|editor-first=Deren|place=Berlin, Heidelberg|publisher=Springer Berlin Heidelberg|language=en|doi=10.1007/978-3-662-56472-1_17|isbn=978-3-662-56471-4|access-date=2021-03-07|last2=Gondek|first2=Christoph|last3=Kroke|first3=Edwin|last4=Roewer|first4=Gerhard|s2cid=226945433|chapter-url-access=subscription}}</ref> At high temperatures, silicon also reacts with [[alkyl halide]]s; this reaction may be catalysed by [[copper]] to directly synthesise [[organosilicon]] chlorides as precursors to [[silicone]] polymers. Upon melting, silicon becomes extremely reactive, alloying with most metals to form [[silicide]]s, and reducing most metal oxides because the [[heat of formation]] of silicon dioxide is so large. In fact, molten silicon reacts virtually with every known kind of crucible material (except its own oxide, {{chem|SiO|2}}).<ref name="Grabmaier-1982">{{Cite book |last=Grabmaier |first=J. |title=Silicon Chemical Etching |date=1982 |publisher=Springer Berlin Heidelberg |isbn=978-3-642-68765-5 |location=Berlin, Heidelberg |oclc=840294227}}</ref>{{Rp|page=13}} This happens due to silicon's high binding forces for the light elements and to its high dissolving power for most elements.<ref name="Grabmaier-1982" />{{Rp|page=13}} As a result, containers for liquid silicon must be made of [[refractory]], unreactive materials such as [[zirconium dioxide]] or group 4, 5, and 6 borides.{{sfn|Greenwood|Earnshaw|1997|p=331}}<ref>{{harvnb|Greenwood|Earnshaw|1997|pp=331–5}}</ref>

Tetrahedral coordination is a major structural motif in silicon chemistry just as it is for carbon chemistry. However, the 3p subshell is rather more diffuse than the 2p subshell and does not hybridise so well with the 3s subshell. As a result, the chemistry of silicon and its heavier congeners shows significant differences from that of carbon,<ref name="Kaupp">{{cite journal |last=Kaupp |first=Martin |date=1 December 2006 |title=The role of radial nodes of atomic orbitals for chemical bonding and the periodic table |url=http://depa.fquim.unam.mx/amyd/archivero/LecturasobreNodosRadiales_12854.pdf |journal=Journal of Computational Chemistry |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=320–325 |doi=10.1002/jcc.20522 |pmid=17143872 |bibcode=2007JCoCh..28..320K |s2cid=12677737 |access-date=14 October 2016 |doi-access=free }}</ref> and thus octahedral coordination is also significant.{{sfn|Greenwood|Earnshaw|1997|p=335}} For example, the [[electronegativity]] of silicon (1.90) is much less than that of carbon (2.55), because the valence electrons of silicon are further from the nucleus than those of carbon and hence experience smaller electrostatic forces of attraction from the nucleus. The poor overlap of 3p orbitals also results in a much lower tendency toward [[catenation]] (formation of Si–Si bonds) for silicon than for carbon, due to the concomitant weakening of the Si–Si bond compared to the C–C bond:<ref name="King43">{{harvnb|King|1995|pp=43–44}}</ref> the average Si–Si bond energy is approximately 226&nbsp;kJ/mol, compared to a value of 356&nbsp;kJ/mol for the C–C bond.{{sfn|Greenwood|Earnshaw|1997|pp=374}} This results in multiply bonded silicon compounds generally being much less stable than their carbon counterparts, an example of the [[double bond rule]]. On the other hand, the presence of radial nodes in the 3p orbitals of silicon suggests the possibility of [[hypervalence]], as seen in five and six-coordinate derivatives of silicon such as {{chem|SiX|5|-}} and {{chem|SiF|6|2-}}.<ref>{{cite journal
| last1   =Kaupp
| first1  =Martin
| title   =The role of radial nodes of atomic orbitals for chemical bonding and the periodic table
| journal =Journal of Computational Chemistry
| volume  =28
| issue   =1
| year    =2007
| pages   =320–325
| issn    =0192-8651
| doi     =10.1002/jcc.20522
| pmid  =17143872
| doi-access=
| bibcode =2007JCoCh..28..320K
}}</ref><ref name="King43" /> Lastly, because of the increasing energy gap between the valence s and p orbitals as the group is descended, the divalent state grows in importance from carbon to lead, so that a few unstable divalent compounds are known for silicon; this lowering of the main oxidation state, in tandem with increasing atomic radii, results in an increase of metallic character down the group. Silicon already shows some incipient metallic behavior, particularly in the behavior of its oxide compounds and its reaction with acids as well as bases (though this takes some effort), and is hence often referred to as a [[metalloid]] rather than a nonmetal.<ref name="King43" /> Germanium shows more, and tin is generally considered a metal.{{sfn|Greenwood|Earnshaw|1997|p=328}}

Silicon shows clear differences from carbon. For example, [[organic chemistry]] has very few analogies with silicon chemistry, while [[silicate]] minerals have a structural complexity unseen in [[oxocarbon]]s.{{sfn|Greenwood|Earnshaw|1997|pp=327–328}} Silicon tends to resemble germanium far more than it does carbon, and this resemblance is enhanced by the [[d-block contraction]], resulting in the size of the germanium atom being much closer to that of the silicon atom than periodic trends would predict.{{sfn|Greenwood|Earnshaw|1997|pp=359-361}} Nevertheless, there are still some differences because of the growing importance of the divalent state in germanium compared to silicon. Additionally, the lower Ge–O bond strength compared to the [[Silicon–oxygen bond|Si–O bond]] strength results in the absence of "germanone" polymers that would be analogous to silicone polymers.{{sfn|Greenwood|Earnshaw|1997|pp=374}}

==Occurrence==
[[File:Olivine-gem7-10a.jpg|thumb|upright|Olivine]]
Silicon is the eighth [[Abundance of the chemical elements#Universe|most abundant element in the universe]], coming after [[hydrogen]], [[helium]], [[oxygen]], [[carbon]], [[neon]], [[iron]], and [[nitrogen]]. This differs from [[abundance of elements in Earth's crust]] due to substantial separation of the elements taking place during the formation of the [[Solar System]]. Silicon makes up 27.2% of the Earth's crust by weight, second only to oxygen at 45.5%, with which it always is associated in nature. Further fractionation took place in the formation of the Earth by [[planetary differentiation]]: [[Earth's core]], which makes up 31.5% of the mass of the Earth, has approximate composition {{chem|Fe|25|Ni|2|Co|0.1|S|3}}; the [[Mantle (geology)|mantle]] makes up 68.1% of the Earth's mass and is composed mostly of denser oxides and silicates, an example being [[olivine]], {{chem|(Mg,Fe)|2|SiO|4}}; while the lighter siliceous minerals such as [[aluminosilicate]]s rise to the surface and form the crust, making up 0.4% of the Earth's mass.{{sfn|Greenwood|Earnshaw|1997|p=329}}<ref>{{harvnb|Greenwood|Earnshaw|1997|pp=329–330}}</ref>

The crystallisation of [[igneous rock]]s from magma depends on a number of factors; among them are the chemical composition of the magma, the cooling rate, and some properties of the individual minerals to be formed, such as [[lattice energy]], melting point, and complexity of their crystal structure. As magma is cooled, [[olivine]] appears first, followed by [[pyroxene]], [[amphibole]], [[biotite]] mica, [[orthoclase feldspar]], [[muscovite mica]], [[quartz]], [[zeolite]]s, and finally, hydrothermal minerals. This sequence shows a trend toward increasingly complex silicate units with cooling, and the introduction of [[hydroxide]] and [[fluoride]] anions in addition to oxides. Many metals may substitute for silicon. After these igneous rocks undergo [[weathering]], transport, and deposition, [[sedimentary rock]]s like clay, shale, and sandstone are formed. [[Metamorphism]] also may occur at high temperatures and pressures, creating an even vaster variety of minerals.{{sfn|Greenwood|Earnshaw|1997|p=329}}

There are four sources for silicon fluxes into the ocean: chemical weathering of continental rocks, river transport, dissolution of continental terrigenous silicates, and the reaction between submarine basalts and hydrothermal fluid which release dissolved silicon. All four of these fluxes are interconnected in the ocean's biogeochemical cycle as they all were initially formed from the weathering of Earth's crust.<ref name="The World Ocean Silica Cycle">{{cite journal |last1=Tréguer |first1=Paul J. |last2=De La Rocha |first2=Christina L. |title=The World Ocean Silica Cycle |journal=Annual Review of Marine Science |date=3 January 2013 |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=477–501 |doi=10.1146/annurev-marine-121211-172346|pmid=22809182 }}</ref>

Approximately 300–900 megatonnes of [[Dust#Atmospheric|aeolian dust]] is deposited into the world's oceans each year. Of that value, 80–240 megatonnes are in the form of particulate silicon. The total amount of particulate silicon deposition into the ocean is still less than the amount of silicon influx into the ocean via riverine transportation.<ref name="Atmospheric transport of silicon">{{cite book |last1=Tegen |first1=Ina |last2=Kohfeld |first2=Karen |title=Atmospheric transport of silicon |date=2006 |publisher=Island Press |isbn=1-59726-115-7 |pages=81–91}}</ref> Aeolian inputs of particulate lithogenic silicon into the North Atlantic and Western North Pacific oceans are the result of dust settling on the oceans from the Sahara and Gobi Desert, respectively.<ref name="The World Ocean Silica Cycle" /> Riverine transports are the major source of silicon influx into the ocean in coastal regions, while silicon deposition in the open ocean is greatly influenced by the settling of aeolian dust.<ref name="Atmospheric transport of silicon" />

==Production==
{{Further|List of countries by silicon production}}
Silicon of 96–99% purity is made by [[Carbothermic reaction|carbothermically]] reducing [[quartzite]] or sand with highly pure [[Coke (fuel)|coke]]. The reduction is carried out in an [[electric arc furnace]], using an excess of {{chem|SiO|2}} to prevent [[silicon carbide]] (SiC) from accumulating:{{sfn|Greenwood|Earnshaw|1997|p=330}}
:{{chem|SiO|2}} + 2 C → Si + 2 CO
:2 SiC + {{chem|SiO|2}} → 3 Si + 2 CO

[[File:Ferrosilicon.JPG|thumb|upright=0.9|Ferrosilicon alloy]]
This reaction, known as carbothermal reduction of silicon dioxide, usually is conducted in the presence of scrap iron with low amounts of [[phosphorus]] and [[sulfur]], producing [[ferrosilicon]].{{sfn|Greenwood|Earnshaw|1997|p=330}} Ferrosilicon, an iron-silicon alloy that contains varying ratios of elemental silicon and iron, accounts for about 80% of the world's production of elemental silicon, with China, the leading supplier of elemental silicon, providing 4.6&nbsp;million [[tonne]]s (or two-thirds of world output) of silicon, most of it in the form of ferrosilicon. It is followed by Russia (610,000 t), Norway (330,000 t), Brazil (240,000 t), and the United States (170,000 t).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/silicon/mcs-2011-simet.pdf |publisher=USGS |title=Silicon Commodities Report 2011 |access-date=2011-10-20 |archive-date=2017-07-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709121719/https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/silicon/mcs-2011-simet.pdf }}</ref> Ferrosilicon is primarily used by the iron and steel industry (see [[#Alloys|below]]) with primary use as alloying addition in iron or steel and for de-oxidation of steel in integrated steel plants.{{sfn|Greenwood|Earnshaw|1997|p=330}} Most elemental silicon produced remains as a ferrosilicon alloy, and only approximately 20% is refined to metallurgical grade purity (a total of 1.3–1.5 million metric tons/year). An estimated 15% of the world production of metallurgical grade silicon is further refined to semiconductor purity.<ref name="USGS" />

Another reaction, sometimes used, is aluminothermal reduction of silicon dioxide, as follows:<ref name="Ullmann574">{{harvnb|Zulehner|Neuer|Rau|p=574}}</ref>
:3 {{chem|SiO|2}} + 4 Al → 3 Si + 2 {{chem|Al|2|O|3}}

Leaching powdered 96–97% pure silicon with water results in ~98.5% pure silicon, which is used in the chemical industry. However, even greater purity is needed for semiconductor applications, and this is produced from the reduction of [[tetrachlorosilane]] (silicon tetrachloride) or [[trichlorosilane]]. The former is made by chlorinating scrap silicon and the latter is a byproduct of [[silicone]] production. These compounds are volatile and hence can be purified by repeated [[fractional distillation]], followed by reduction to elemental silicon with very pure [[zinc]] metal as the reducing agent. The spongy pieces of silicon thus produced are melted and then grown to form cylindrical single crystals, before being purified by [[zone refining]]. Other routes use the thermal decomposition of [[silane]] or [[tetraiodosilane]] ({{chem|SiI|4}}). Another process used is the reduction of [[sodium hexafluorosilicate]], a common waste product of the phosphate fertilizer industry, by metallic [[sodium]]: this is highly exothermic and hence requires no outside energy source. Hyperfine silicon is made at a higher purity than almost any other material: [[transistor]] production requires impurity levels in silicon crystals less than 1 part per 10<sup>10</sup>, and in special cases impurity levels below 1 part per 10<sup>12</sup> are needed and attained.{{sfn|Greenwood|Earnshaw|1997|p=330}}

Silicon nanostructures can directly be produced from silica sand using conventional metalothermic processes, or the combustion synthesis approach. Such nanostructured silicon materials can be used in various functional applications including the anode of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), other ion batteries, future computing devices like memristors or photocatalytic applications.<ref>{{cite journal |first=A.R. |last=Kamali |title=Ultra-fast shock-wave combustion synthesis of nanostructured silicon from sand with excellent Li storage performance |journal=Sustainable Energy & Fuels |volume=3 |issue= 6|pages=1396–1405  |date=2019 |doi= 10.1039/C9SE00046A|s2cid=139986478 |url=https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2019/se/c9se00046a|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Applications==
===Compounds===
Most silicon is used industrially without being purified, often with comparatively little processing from its natural form. More than 90% of the Earth's crust is composed of [[silicate minerals]], which are compounds of silicon and oxygen, often with metallic ions when negatively charged silicate anions require cations to balance the charge. Many of these have direct commercial uses, such as clays, [[silica]] sand, and most kinds of building stone. Thus, the vast majority of uses for silicon are as structural compounds, either as the silicate minerals or silica (crude silicon dioxide). Silicates are used in making [[Portland cement]] (made mostly of calcium silicates) which is used in [[mortar (masonry)|building mortar]] and modern [[stucco]], but more importantly, combined with silica sand, and gravel (usually containing silicate minerals such as granite), to make the [[concrete]] that is the basis of most of the very largest industrial building projects of the modern world.{{sfn|Greenwood|Earnshaw|1997|p=356}}

Silica is used to make [[fire brick]], a type of ceramic. Silicate minerals are also in whiteware [[ceramic]]s, an important class of products usually containing various types of fired [[clay]] minerals (natural aluminium phyllosilicates). An example is [[porcelain]], which is based on the silicate mineral [[kaolinite]]. Traditional [[glass]] (silica-based [[soda–lime glass]]) also functions in many of the same ways, and also is used for windows and containers. In addition, specialty silica based [[glass fiber]]s are used for [[optical fiber]], as well as to produce [[fiberglass]] for structural support and [[glass wool]] for [[thermal insulation]].{{citation needed|date=December 2025}}

Silicones often are used in [[waterproofing]] treatments, [[molding (process)|molding]] compounds, mold-[[release agent]]s, mechanical seals, high temperature [[lubricant|greases]] and waxes, and [[caulking]] compounds. Silicone is also sometimes used in [[breast implant]]s, contact lenses, [[explosive]]s and [[pyrotechnics]].<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1002/prep.200700021 |title=Special Materials in Pyrotechnics: VI. Silicon – An Old Fuel with New Perspectives |last1=Koch |first1=E.C. |last2=Clement |first2=D. |journal=Propellants, Explosives, Pyrotechnics |volume=32 |pages=205–212 |date=2007 |issue=3}}</ref> [[Silly Putty]] was originally made by adding [[boric acid]] to [[silicone oil]].<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url ={{google books |plainurl=y |id=jftapGDTmYUC|page=90}} |chapter=Silly Putty |title=Timeless toys: classic toys and the playmakers who created them |first=Tim |last=Walsh |publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing |date=2005 |isbn=978-0-7407-5571-2}}</ref><!--Now name-brand Silly Putty also contains significant amounts of elemental silicon. (Silicon binds to the silicone and allows the material to bounce 20% higher.){{Citation needed|date=January 2008}} https://books.google.com/books?id=F2ApK7QnbPUC&pg=PA125 does not mention silicon--> Other silicon compounds function as high-technology abrasives and new high-strength ceramics based upon [[silicon carbide]]. Silicon is a component of some [[superalloy]]s.

===Alloys===
Elemental silicon is added to molten [[cast iron]] as [[ferrosilicon]] or silicocalcium alloys to improve performance in casting thin sections and to prevent the formation of [[cementite]] where exposed to outside air. The presence of elemental silicon in molten iron acts as a sink for oxygen, so that the steel carbon content, which must be kept within narrow limits for each type of steel, can be more closely controlled. Ferrosilicon production and use is a monitor of the steel industry, and although this form of elemental silicon is grossly impure, it accounts for 80% of the world's use of free silicon.{{citation needed|date=December 2025}} Silicon is an important constituent of [[transformer steel]], modifying its [[resistivity]] and [[ferromagnetic]] properties.{{sfn|Zulehner|Neuer|Rau|p=598}}

The properties of silicon may be used to modify alloys with metals other than iron. "Metallurgical grade" silicon is silicon of 95–99% purity. About 55% of the world consumption of metallurgical purity silicon goes for production of aluminium-silicon alloys ([[silumin]] alloys) for aluminium part [[Casting|casts]], mainly for use in the [[automotive industry]]. Silicon's importance in aluminium casting is that a significantly high amount (12%) of silicon in aluminium forms a [[eutectic mixture]] which solidifies with very little thermal contraction. This greatly reduces tearing and cracks formed from stress as casting alloys cool to solidity. Silicon also significantly improves the hardness and thus wear-resistance of aluminium.<ref name="diecasting">{{cite web|last=Apelian |first=D.|date=2009 |url=http://www.diecasting.org/research/wwr/WWR_AluminumCastAlloys.pdf |title=Aluminum Cast Alloys: Enabling Tools for Improved Performance |publisher=North American Die Casting Association |location=Wheeling, Illinois|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120106013105/http://www.diecasting.org/research/wwr/WWR_AluminumCastAlloys.pdf|archive-date=2012-01-06}}</ref><ref name="USGS" /> Metallurgical grade silicon is made by melting quartz or quartzite in a large arc furnace, in a carbothermal reduction process with carbon-containing material such as coal, coke or charcoal and woodchips for gas circulation. This production technique without iron is often used for [[polysilicon]] production for photovoltaics and also semiconductors.<ref>Troszak T.A. (2021) The hidden costs of solar photovoltaic power, NATO ENSEC COE Energy highlights Vol 16, pp 22. Copyright 2021 NATO Energy Security Center of Excellence</ref><ref>{{cite web |last= Maloney|first=Dan|url=https://hackaday.com/2021/11/15/mining-and-refining-pure-silicon-and-the-incredible-effort-it-takes-to-get-there/ | title=Mining and Refining: Pure Silicon and the Incredible Effort It Takes to Get There|website=Hack A Day | date=15 November 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://magazine.elkem.com/material-science-insights/from-quartz-to-silicon-to-silicones/#:~:text=Metallurgical%2Dgrade%20silicon%20is%20produced,a%20submerged%20electric%20arc%20furnace | title=From quartz to silicon to silicones }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title=Mass Production Test of Solar Cells and Modules Made of 100% UMG Silicon. 20.76% Record Efficiency|first1=Eduardo|last1=Forniés|first2=Bruno|last2=Ceccaroli|first3=Laura|last3=Méndez|first4=Alejandro|last4=Souto|first5=Antonio|last5=Pérez Vázquez|first6=Timur|last6=Vlasenko|first7=Joaquín|last7=Dieguez|date=April 19, 2019|journal=Energies|volume=12|issue=8|page=1495|doi=10.3390/en12081495|doi-access=free }}</ref>

===Electronics===
{{Main|Semiconductor device fabrication}}
{{Further|Semiconductor industry}}

Silicon semiconductor devices enable modern information technology. The electronic applications are broad, including microelectronics, computing, optoelectronics, and nanotechnology.<ref name=Heywang-2004>{{cite book |last1=Heywang |first1=W. |chapter=Silicon: the Semiconductor Material |date=2004 |title=Silicon |pages=25–42 |editor-last=Siffert |editor-first=P. |editor2-last=Krimmel |editor2-first=E. F. |chapter-url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-662-09897-4_2 |access-date=2026-01-21 |place=Berlin, Heidelberg |publisher=Springer Berlin Heidelberg |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-662-09897-4_2 |isbn=978-3-642-07356-4 |last2=Zaininger |first2=K. H. }}</ref>{{rp|25}} Among the many advantages of silicon for electronics are: low cost, formation of large pure single crystals, not brittle, conducts heat generated by electrical activity adequately, can be micro-structured and modified in layers, and its oxide is an excellent insulator.<ref name=Heywang-2004/>{{rp|40}}

An estimated 15% of the world production of metallurgical grade silicon is refined to semiconductor purity.<ref name="USGS" /> This is typically the "nine-9" or 99.9999999% purity,<ref>"Semi" SemiSource 2006: A supplement to Semiconductor International. December 2005. Reference Section: ''How to Make a Chip.'' Adapted from Design News. Reed Electronics Group.</ref> nearly defect-free single [[crystalline]] material.<ref>SemiSource 2006: A supplement to Semiconductor International. December 2005. Reference Section: ''How to Make a Chip.'' Adapted from Design News. Reed Electronics Group.</ref>

[[Monocrystalline silicon]] of such purity is usually produced by the [[Czochralski process]], and is used to produce [[Wafer (electronics)|silicon wafers]] used in the [[semiconductor industry]], in electronics, and in some high-cost and high-efficiency [[photovoltaic]] applications.<ref name="Ullmann590">{{harvnb|Zulehner|Neuer|Rau|p=590}}</ref> Pure silicon is an [[intrinsic semiconductor]], which means that unlike metals, it conducts [[electron hole]]s and electrons released from atoms by heat. Intrinsic silicon's [[electrical conductivity]] increases with temperature due to the broadening of the [[Fermi-Dirac distribution]]. Pure silicon has too low a conductivity (i.e., too high a [[resistivity]]) to be used as a circuit element in electronics. In practice, pure silicon is [[doping (semiconductors)|doped]] with small concentrations of elements with differing valence electron count (typically boron and phosphorus), which greatly increase its conductivity and adjust its electrical response by controlling the number and type ([[electron hole|positive]] or [[electron|negative]]) of activated charge carriers. Such control is necessary for [[transistor]]s, [[solar cell]]s, [[semiconductor detector]]s, and other [[semiconductor device]]s used in the computer industry and other technical applications.<ref name="Ullmann573">{{harvnb|Zulehner|Neuer|Rau|p=573}}</ref> In [[silicon photonics]], silicon may be used as a continuous wave [[Raman laser]] medium to produce coherent light.<ref name="dekker_2008">{{cite journal |title=Ultrafast nonlinear all-optical processes in silicon-on-insulator waveguides |journal=[[Journal of Physics D]] |year=2008 |volume=40 |issue=14 |page=R249–R271 |doi=10.1088/0022-3727/40/14/r01 |bibcode=2007JPhD...40..249D |last1=Dekker |first1=R |last2=Usechak |first2=N |last3=Först |first3=M |last4=Driessen |first4=A |s2cid=123008652 |url=https://ris.utwente.nl/ws/files/6730038/Dekker_R._Journ._Appl._Phys__Juni_2007.pdf |access-date=2024-04-15 |archive-date=2024-04-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240416161929/https://ris.utwente.nl/ws/files/6730038/Dekker_R._Journ._Appl._Phys__Juni_2007.pdf }}</ref>
[[File:OxidizedSiliconWafer.jpg|thumb|Silicon wafer which has been thermally oxidized using water vapor at 1100º C for ~30 nm of silicon dioxide. The clear regions have been etched bare for subsequent doping.]]
In common [[integrated circuit]]s, a wafer of mono-crystalline silicon (Si) serves as a mechanical support for the circuits. Circuit elements ([[transistor]]s) are created by doping and passivated by thin layers of [[silicon dioxide|silicon oxide]], an insulator that is easily produced on Si surfaces by processes of [[thermal oxidation]] or [[chemical vapor deposition]] (CVD) (among other methods). Thermal oxidation is most common and involves exposing Si to oxygen under the specific conditions. The resulting oxide thickness  can be predicted by the [[Deal–Grove model]]. Silicon is the most popular material for integrated circuits due to the high stability and ease of forming its native oxide (SiO<sub>2</sub>). The insulating oxide of silicon is not soluble in water, which gives it an advantage over [[germanium]].<ref>[http://www.mpoweruk.com/semiconductors.htm Semiconductors Without the Quantum Physics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813034833/https://mpoweruk.com/semiconductors.htm|date=2021-08-13}}. Electropaedia</ref> Germanium (Ge) was used for the first version of the transistor and has similar electronic properties to silicon such as carrier [[Electron mobility|mobility]] and [[band gap]]. However Ge based technologies ultimately failed due to the instability of the GeO<sub>2</sub>. Germanium is still used in modern semiconductor electronics as a [[dopant]] to enhance the mobility of [[Electron hole|holes]] in the source and drain of [[PMOS logic|PMOS]].

Monocrystalline silicon is expensive to produce, and is usually justified only in production of integrated circuits, where tiny crystal imperfections can interfere with tiny circuit paths.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Impact of Silicon Wafer Quality on Semiconductor Performance and Reliability |url=https://www.samaterials.com/the-impact-of-silicon-wafer-quality-on-semiconductor-performance-and-reliability.html |access-date=2025-12-26 |website=www.samaterials.com |language=en}}</ref> For other uses, other types of pure silicon may be employed. These include [[hydrogenated amorphous silicon]] and upgraded metallurgical-grade silicon (UMG-Si) used in the production of low-cost, [[large-area electronics]] in applications such as [[liquid-crystal display]]s and of large-area, low-cost, thin-film [[solar cells]]. Such semiconductor grades of silicon are either slightly less pure or polycrystalline rather than monocrystalline, and are produced in comparable quantities as the monocrystalline silicon: 75,000 to 150,000 metric tons per year. The market for the lesser grade is growing more quickly than for monocrystalline silicon. By 2013, polycrystalline silicon production, used mostly in solar cells, was projected to reach 200,000 metric tons per year, while monocrystalline semiconductor grade silicon was expected to remain less than 50,000 tons per year.<ref name="USGS">Corathers, Lisa A. [https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/silicon/myb1-2009-simet.pdf 2009 Minerals Yearbook] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622193033/https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/silicon/myb1-2009-simet.pdf |date=2018-06-22 }}. USGS</ref>

===Quantum dots===
[[Silicon quantum dots]] are created through the thermal processing of hydrogen [[silsesquioxane]] into nanocrystals ranging from a few nanometers to a few microns, displaying size dependent [[Luminescence|luminescent]] properties.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Clark|first1=Rhett J.|last2=Aghajamali|first2=Maryam|last3=Gonzalez|first3=Christina M.|last4=Hadidi|first4=Lida|last5=Islam|first5=Muhammad Amirul|last6=Javadi|first6=Morteza|last7=Mobarok|first7=Md Hosnay|last8=Purkait|first8=Tapas K.|last9=Robidillo|first9=Christopher Jay T.|last10=Sinelnikov|first10=Regina|last11=Thiessen|first11=Alyxandra N.|date=2017-01-10|title=From Hydrogen Silsesquioxane to Functionalized Silicon Nanocrystals|journal=Chemistry of Materials|volume=29|issue=1|pages=80–89|doi=10.1021/acs.chemmater.6b02667|issn=0897-4756}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Hessel|first1=Colin M.|last2=Henderson|first2=Eric J.|last3=Veinot|first3=Jonathan G. C.|date=2007|title=Hydrogen Silsesquioxane: A Molecular Precursor for Nanocrystalline Si—SiO2 Composites and Freestanding Hydride-Surface-Terminated Silicon Nanoparticles.|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/chin.200710014|journal=ChemInform|language=en|volume=38|issue=10|article-number=chin.200710014 |doi=10.1002/chin.200710014|issn=1522-2667|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The nanocrystals display large [[Stokes shift]]s converting photons in the ultraviolet range to photons in the visible or infrared, depending on the particle size, allowing for applications in [[quantum dot display]]s and [[luminescent solar concentrator]]s due to their limited self absorption. A benefit of using silicon based [[quantum dot]]s over [[cadmium]] or [[indium]] is the non-toxic, metal-free nature of silicon.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lim|first1=Cheol Hong|last2=Han|first2=Jeong-Hee|last3=Cho|first3=Hae-Won|last4=Kang|first4=Mingu|date=2014|title=Studies on the Toxicity and Distribution of Indium Compounds According to Particle Size in Sprague-Dawley Rats|url=http://koreascience.or.kr/article/JAKO201416747604676.page|journal=Toxicological Research|volume=30|issue=1|pages=55–63|doi=10.5487/TR.2014.30.1.055|issn=1976-8257|pmc=4007045|pmid=24795801|bibcode=2014ToxRe..30...55L }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|date=2020-03-15|title=Cadmium-induced cytotoxicity in mouse liver cells is associated with the disruption of autophagic flux via inhibiting the fusion of autophagosomes and lysosomes|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378427419304126|journal=Toxicology Letters|language=en|volume=321|pages=32–43|doi=10.1016/j.toxlet.2019.12.019|issn=0378-4274|last1=Zou |first1=Hui |first2=Tao |last2=Wang |first3=Junzhao  |last3=Yuan |first4=Jian  |last4=Sun |first5=Yan |last5=Yuan|first6=Jianhong  |last6=Gu |first7=Xuezhong  |last7=Liu |first8=Jianchun  |last8=Bian |first9=Zongping  |last9=Liu|pmid=31862506|bibcode=2020ToxL..321...32Z |s2cid=209435190|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
Another application of silicon quantum dots is for sensing of hazardous materials. The sensors take advantage of the luminescent properties of the quantum dots through [[Quenching (fluorescence)|quenching]] of the [[photoluminescence]] in the presence of the hazardous substance.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Nguyen|first1=An|last2=Gonzalez|first2=Christina M|last3=Sinelnikov|first3=Regina|last4=Newman|first4=W|last5=Sun|first5=Sarah|last6=Lockwood|first6=Ross|last7=Veinot|first7=Jonathan G C|last8=Meldrum|first8=Al|date=2016-02-10|title=Detection of nitroaromatics in the solid, solution, and vapor phases using silicon quantum dot sensors|journal=Nanotechnology|language=en|volume=27|issue=10|article-number=105501|doi=10.1088/0957-4484/27/10/105501|pmid=26863492|bibcode=2016Nanot..27j5501N|s2cid=24292648 |issn=0957-4484}}</ref> There are many methods used for hazardous chemical sensing with a few being electron transfer, [[Förster resonance energy transfer|fluorescence resonance energy transfer]], and photocurrent generation.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Gonzalez|first1=Christina M.|last2=Veinot|first2=Jonathan G. C.|date=2016-06-02|title=Silicon nanocrystals for the development of sensing platforms|url=https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2016/tc/c6tc01159d|journal=Journal of Materials Chemistry C|language=en|volume=4|issue=22|pages=4836–4846|doi=10.1039/C6TC01159D|issn=2050-7534|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Electron transfer quenching occurs when the [[lowest unoccupied molecular orbital]] (LUMO) is slightly lower in energy than the conduction band of the quantum dot, allowing for the transfer of electrons between the two, preventing recombination of the holes and electrons within the nanocrystals. The effect can also be achieved in reverse with a donor molecule having its [[highest occupied molecular orbital]] (HOMO) slightly higher than a valence band edge of the quantum dot, allowing electrons to transfer between them, filling the holes and preventing recombination. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer occurs when a complex forms between the quantum dot and a quencher molecule. The complex will continue to absorb light but when the energy is converted to the ground state it does not release a photon, quenching the material. The third method uses different approach by measuring the [[photocurrent]] emitted by the quantum dots instead of monitoring the photoluminescent display. If the concentration of the desired chemical increases then the photocurrent given off by the nanocrystals will change in response.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Yue|first1=Zhao|last2=Lisdat|first2=Fred|last3=Parak|first3=Wolfgang J.|last4=Hickey|first4=Stephen G.|last5=Tu|first5=Liping|last6=Sabir|first6=Nadeem|last7=Dorfs|first7=Dirk|last8=Bigall|first8=Nadja C.|date=2013-04-24|title=Quantum-Dot-Based Photoelectrochemical Sensors for Chemical and Biological Detection|journal=ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces|volume=5|issue=8|pages=2800–2814|doi=10.1021/am3028662|pmid=23547912|bibcode=2013AAMI....5.2800Y |issn=1944-8244}}</ref>

===Thermal energy storage===
{{Excerpt|Thermal energy storage|Silicon}}

==Biological role==
[[File:20110123 185042 Diatom.jpg|upright|thumb|A diatom, enclosed in a silica cell wall]]
Although silicon is readily available in the form of [[silicate]]s, very few organisms use it directly. [[Diatom]]s, [[radiolaria]], and [[siliceous sponge]]s use [[biogenic silica]] as a structural material for their skeletons. Some plants accumulate silica in their tissues and require silicon for their growth, for example [[rice]]. Silicon may be taken up by plants as [[orthosilicic acid]] (also known as monosilicic acid) and transported through the [[xylem]], where it forms amorphous complexes with components of the cell wall. This has been shown to improve cell wall strength and structural integrity in some plants, thereby reducing insect herbivory and pathogenic infections. In certain plants, silicon may also upregulate the production of volatile organic compounds and phytohormones which play a significant role in plant defense mechanisms.<ref name="Kim2002">{{cite journal |doi=10.1094/PHYTO.2002.92.10.1095 |pmid=18944220 |title=Silicon-Induced Cell Wall Fortification of Rice Leaves: A Possible Cellular Mechanism of Enhanced Host Resistance to Blast |journal=Phytopathology |volume=92| issue=10 |pages=1095–103 |year=2002 |last1=Kim |first1=Sang Gyu |last2=Kim |first2=Ki Woo |last3=Park |first3=Eun Woo |last4=Choi |first4=Doil|doi-access= |bibcode=2002PhPat..92.1095K }}</ref><ref name="plants" /><ref name="Leroy2019">{{cite journal |last1=Leroy |first1=Nicolas |last2=de Tombeur |first2=Felix |last3=Walgraffe |first3=Yseult |last4=Cornelis |first4=Jean-Thomas |last5=Verheggen |first5=Francois |title=Silicon and plant natural defenses against insect pests: impact on plant volatile organic compounds and cascade effects on multitrophic interactions |journal=Plants |date=23 October 2019 |volume=8 |issue=444 |page=444 |doi=10.3390/plants8110444|pmid=31652861 |pmc=6918431 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2019Plnts...8..444L }}</ref> In more advanced plants, silica ([[opal]]) [[phytolith]]s provide structural support.<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Silicon |page=856 |isbn=978-0-444-53181-0 |title=Studies in Natural Products Chemistry |volume=35 |first=Atta-ur- |last=Rahman|year=2008 |publisher=Elsevier Science }}</ref><ref name="abd">{{cite journal |last1=Exley |first1=C. |title=Silicon in life:A bioinorganic solution to bioorganic essentiality |journal=Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry |volume=69 |pages=139–144 |date=1998 |doi=10.1016/S0162-0134(97)10010-1 |issue=3}}</ref><ref name="plants">{{cite journal |last1=Epstein |first1=Emanuel |title=SILICON |journal=Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology |volume=50 |date=1999 |pmid=15012222 |doi=10.1146/annurev.arplant.50.1.641 |pages=641–664}}</ref>

Several [[horticultural crop]]s are known to protect themselves against [[fungal plant pathogen]]s with silica, to such a degree that [[fungicide]] application may fail unless accompanied by sufficient silicon nutrition. Silicaceous plant defense molecules activate some [[phytoalexin]]s, meaning some of them are signalling substances producing [[acquired immunity]]. When deprived, some plants will substitute with increased production of other defensive substances.<ref name="plants" />

Life on Earth is largely composed of [[carbon]], but [[astrobiology]] considers that [[extraterrestrial life]] may have other [[hypothetical types of biochemistry]]. Silicon is considered an alternative to carbon, as it can create complex and stable molecules with four covalent bonds, required for a [[DNA]]-analog, and it is available in large quantities.<ref>{{cite book |last= Aguilera Mochón|first= Juan Antonio|date= 2016|title= La vida no terrestre|trans-title= The non-terrestrial life|url= |language= Spanish |location= |pages=43–45|publisher= RBA|isbn=978-84-473-8665-9}}</ref>

===Marine microbial influences ===
Diatoms use silicon in the [[biogenic silica]] (bSi) form,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bidle|first1=Kay D.|last2=Manganelli|first2=Maura|last3=Azam|first3=Farooq|date=2002-12-06|title=Regulation of Oceanic Silicon and Carbon Preservation by Temperature Control on Bacteria|url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1076076|journal=Science|language=en|volume=298|issue=5600|pages=1980–1984|doi=10.1126/science.1076076|issn=0036-8075|pmid=12471255|bibcode=2002Sci...298.1980B|s2cid=216994|url-access=subscription}}</ref> which is taken up by the silicon transport protein (SIT) to be predominantly used in the cell wall structure as frustules.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Durkin|first1=Colleen A.|last2=Koester|first2=Julie A.|last3=Bender|first3=Sara J.|last4=Armbrust|first4=E. Virginia|date=2016|title=The evolution of silicon transporters in diatoms|url=|journal=Journal of Phycology|language=en|volume=52|issue=5|pages=716–731|doi=10.1111/jpy.12441|issn=1529-8817|pmc=5129515|pmid=27335204|bibcode=2016JPcgy..52..716D }}</ref>  Silicon enters the ocean in a dissolved form such as silicic acid or silicate.<ref name="Dugdale-2001">{{Cite journal|last1=Dugdale|first1=R. C.|last2=Wilkerson|first2=F. P.|date=2001-12-30|title=Sources and fates of silicon in the ocean: the role of diatoms in the climate and glacial cycles|journal=Scientia Marina|volume=65|issue=S2|pages=141–152|doi=10.3989/scimar.2001.65s2141|issn=1886-8134|doi-access=free|bibcode=2001ScMar..65S.141D }}</ref>  Since diatoms are one of the main users of these forms of silicon, they contribute greatly to the concentration of silicon throughout the ocean. Silicon forms a nutrient-like profile in the ocean due to the diatom productivity in shallow depths.<ref name="Dugdale-2001" /> Therefore, concentration of silicon is lower in the shallow ocean and higher in the deep ocean.

Diatom productivity in the upper ocean contributes to the amount of silicon exported to the lower ocean.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Baines|first1=Stephen B.|last2=Twining|first2=Benjamin S.|last3=Brzezinski|first3=Mark A.|last4=Krause|first4=Jeffrey W.|last5=Vogt|first5=Stefan|last6=Assael|first6=Dylan|last7=McDaniel|first7=Hannah|date=December 2012|title=Significant silicon accumulation by marine picocyanobacteria|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/ngeo1641|journal=Nature Geoscience|language=en|volume=5|issue=12|pages=886–891|doi=10.1038/ngeo1641|bibcode=2012NatGe...5..886B|issn=1752-0908|url-access=subscription}}</ref>  When diatom cells are [[Lysis|lysed]] in the upper ocean, their nutrients such as iron, zinc, and silicon, are brought to the lower ocean through a process called [[marine snow]]. Marine snow involves the downward transfer of particulate organic matter by vertical mixing of dissolved organic matter.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Turner|first=Jefferson T.|date=January 2015|title=Zooplankton fecal pellets, marine snow, phytodetritus and the ocean's biological pump|journal=Progress in Oceanography|volume=130|pages=205–248|doi=10.1016/j.pocean.2014.08.005|bibcode=2015PrOce.130..205T|issn=0079-6611}}</ref>  It has been suggested that silicon is considered crucial to diatom productivity and as long as there is silicic acid available for diatoms to use, the diatoms can contribute to other important nutrient concentrations in the deep ocean as well.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Yool|first1=Andrew|last2=Tyrrell|first2=Toby|date=2003|title=Role of diatoms in regulating the ocean's silicon cycle|url=https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2002GB002018|journal=Global Biogeochemical Cycles|language=en|volume=17|issue=4|article-number=2002GB002018 |pages=n/a|doi=10.1029/2002GB002018|bibcode=2003GBioC..17.1103Y|s2cid=16849373|issn=1944-9224|citeseerx=10.1.1.394.3912}}</ref>

In coastal zones, diatoms serve as the major phytoplanktonic organisms and greatly contribute to biogenic silica production. In the open ocean, however, diatoms have a reduced role in global annual silica production. Diatoms in North Atlantic and North Pacific subtropical gyres only contribute about 5–7% of global annual marine silica production. The [[Southern Ocean]] produces about one-third of global marine biogenic silica.<ref name="The World Ocean Silica Cycle" /> The Southern Ocean is referred to as having a "biogeochemical divide"<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Marinov |first1=I. |last2=Gnanadesikan |first2=A. |last3=Toggweiler |first3=J. R. |last4=Sarmiento |first4=J. L. |title=The Southern Ocean biogeochemical divide |journal=Nature |date=June 2006 |volume=441 |issue=7096 |pages=964–967 |doi=10.1038/nature04883|pmid=16791191 |bibcode=2006Natur.441..964M |s2cid=4428683 }}</ref> since only minuscule amounts of silicon are transported out of this region.

===Human nutrition===
There is some evidence that silicon is important to human health for their nail, hair, bone, and skin tissues,<ref>{{cite book|first1=Keith R.|last1=Martin|chapter=Silicon: The Health Benefits of a Metalloid |editor=Astrid Sigel|editor2=Helmut Sigel|editor3=Roland K.O. Sigel|title=Interrelations between Essential Metal Ions and Human Diseases|series=Metal Ions in Life Sciences|volume=13|date=2013|publisher=Springer|pages=451–473|doi=10.1007/978-94-007-7500-8_14|pmid=24470100|isbn=978-94-007-7499-5}}</ref> for example, in studies that demonstrate that premenopausal women with higher dietary silicon intake have higher [[bone density]], and that silicon supplementation can increase bone volume and density in patients with [[osteoporosis]].<ref name="jugdaohsingh2007silicon">{{cite journal |last1=Jugdaohsingh |first1=R. |title=Silicon and bone health |journal=The Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging |date=Mar–Apr 2007 |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=99–110 |pmc=2658806 |pmid=17435952}}</ref> Silicon is needed for synthesis of [[elastin]] and [[collagen]], of which the [[aorta]] contains the greatest quantity in the human body,<ref name="LoeperLoeper1978">{{Cite book |last1=Loeper |first1=J. |last2=Fragny |first2=M. |title=Biochemistry of Silicon and Related Problems |chapter=The Physiological Role of the Silicon and its AntiAtheromatous Action |year=1978 |pages=281–296 |doi=10.1007/978-1-4613-4018-8_13 |isbn=978-1-4613-4020-1}}</ref> and has been considered an [[mineral (nutrient)|essential element]];<ref name="Niels">{{cite journal |doi =10.1146/annurev.nu.04.070184.000321 |pages=21–41 |journal=Annual Review of Nutrition |volume=4 |date=1984 |title=Ultratrace Elements in Nutrition |first=Forrest H. |last=Nielsen |issue=1 |pmid=6087860 |bibcode=1984ARNut...4...21N }}</ref> nevertheless, it is difficult to prove its essentiality, because silicon is very common, and hence, deficiency symptoms are difficult to reproduce.<ref name="lipp">{{Cite book |publisher=University Science Books |isbn=978-0-935702-72-9 |page=411 |last=Lippard |first=Stephen J. |author2=Jeremy M. Berg |title =Principles of Bioinorganic Chemistry |year=1994 |location=Mill Valley, CA}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Muhammad Ansar Farooq |author2=Karl-Josef Dietz |title=Silicon as Versatile Player in Plant and Human Biology: Overlooked and Poorly Understood Muhammad Ansar Farooq and Karl-J |journal=Front. Plant Sci. |date=2015 |volume=6 |issue=994 |page=994 |doi=10.3389/fpls.2015.00994 |pmid=26617630|pmc=4641902 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Silicon was recognized as a "nutritive element" by the International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI) and a "beneficial substance" by the Association of American Plant Food Control Officials.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Thakral |first1=Vandana |last2=Raturi |first2=Gaurav |last3=Sudhakaran |first3=Sreeja |last4=Mandlik |first4=Rushil |last5=Sharma |first5=Yogesh |last6=Shivaraj |first6=S.M. |last7=Tripathi |first7=Durgesh Kumar |last8=Sonah |first8=Humira |last9=Deshmukh |first9=Rupesh |date=March 2024 |title=Silicon, a quasi-essential element: Availability in soil, fertilizer regime, optimum dosage, and uptake in plants |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S098194282400127X |journal=Plant Physiology and Biochemistry |language=en |volume=208 |article-number=108459 |doi=10.1016/j.plaphy.2024.108459 |pmid=38484684 |bibcode=2024PlPB..20808459T |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Safety==
People may be exposed to elemental silicon in the workplace by breathing it in, swallowing it, or having contact with the skin or eye. In the latter two cases, silicon poses a slight hazard as an irritant. It is hazardous if inhaled.<ref name="msds">{{cite web |url=http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9924921 |title=Material Safety Data Sheet: Silicon MSDS |author=Science Lab.com |website=sciencelab.com |access-date=11 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323183044/http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9924921 |archive-date=23 March 2018 }}</ref> The [[Occupational Safety and Health Administration]] (OSHA) has set the [[Permissible exposure limit|legal limit]] for silicon exposure in the workplace as 15&nbsp;mg/m<sup>3</sup> total exposure and 5&nbsp;mg/m<sup>3</sup> respiratory exposure over an eight-hour workday. The [[National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health]] (NIOSH) has set a [[recommended exposure limit]] (REL) of 10&nbsp;mg/m<sup>3</sup> total exposure and 5&nbsp;mg/m<sup>3</sup> respiratory exposure over an eight-hour workday.<ref>{{cite web |title=CDC – NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards – Silicon |url=https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/npgd0554.html |website=www.cdc.gov |access-date=2015-11-21}}</ref> Inhalation of [[crystalline]] silica dust may lead to [[silicosis]], an [[occupational lung disease]] marked by [[inflammation]] and scarring in the form of [[Nodule (medicine)|nodular lesions]] in the upper lobes of the [[lungs]].<ref name="PlantVoulvoulis2012">{{cite book | first1=Jane A. | last1=Plant | first2=Nick | last2=Voulvoulis | first3=K. Vala | last3=Ragnarsdottir | title=Pollutants, Human Health and the Environment: A Risk Based Approach | series=Applied Geochemistry |volume=26 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D3JS6NXez5oC&pg=PA273 |access-date=24 August 2012 |year=2012 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-470-74261-7 |page=273|bibcode=2011ApGC...26S.238P |doi=10.1016/j.apgeochem.2011.03.113 }}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Chemistry}}
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Amorphous silicon]]
* [[Black silicon]]
* [[Covalent superconductors]]
* [[List of countries by silicon production]]
* [[List of silicon producers]]
* [[Monocrystalline silicon]]
* [[Polycrystalline silicon]]
* [[Printed silicon electronics]]
* [[Silicene]]
* [[Silicon nanowire]]
* [[Silicon tombac]]
* [[Silicon Valley]]
* [[Spruce Pine Mining District]]
* [[Transistor]]
{{Div col end}}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{Sfn whitelist|CITEREFGreenwoodEarnshaw1997}}
* {{cite book | last1 =Clayden | first1 =Jonathan | author-link1 =Jonathan Clayden | last2 =Greeves | first2 =Nick | last3 =Warren | first3 =Stuart | author-link3 =Stuart Warren | title =Organic Chemistry | edition =2nd | publisher =Oxford University Press | date =2012 | isbn =978-0-19-927029-3}}
* {{cite book |last=King |first=R. Bruce |date=1995 |title=Inorganic Chemistry of Main Group Elements |publisher=Wiley-VCH |isbn=978-0-471-18602-1}}
* {{Ullmann |first1=Werner |last1=Zulehner |first2=Bernd |last2=Neuer |first3=Gerhard |last3=Rau| title =Silicon | doi =10.1002/14356007.a23_721}}{{sfn whitelist|CITEREFZulehnerNeuerRau}}
* {{cite journal |first=Kamal Y. |last=Kamal |title=The Silicon Age: Trends in Semiconductor Devices Industry |journal=Journal of Engineering Science and Technology Review |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=110–5 |date=2022 |url=http://www.jestr.org/downloads/Volume15Issue1/fulltext141512022.pdf |doi = 10.25103/jestr.151.14| s2cid = 249074588}}

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==External links==
{{Sister project links|auto=y}}
* {{Cite web|title=Silicon Video - The Periodic Table of Videos - University of Nottingham|url=https://www.periodicvideos.com/videos/014.htm|access-date=2021-06-08|website=www.periodicvideos.com}}
* {{Cite web|title=CDC - NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards - Silicon|url=https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/npgd0554.html|access-date=2021-06-08|website=www.cdc.gov}}
* {{Cite web|title=Physical properties of Silicon (Si)|url=https://www.ioffe.ru/SVA/NSM/Semicond/Si/|access-date=2021-06-08|website=www.ioffe.ru}}
* {{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gej9UZZAnQ4 |date=30 November 2022 |series=Asianometry |title=The Story of Solar-Grade Silicon }}

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[[Category:Silicon| ]]
[[Category:Chemical elements]]
[[Category:Metalloids]]
[[Category:Group IV semiconductors]]
[[Category:Pyrotechnic fuels]]
[[Category:Dietary minerals]]
[[Category:Reducing agents]]
[[Category:Native element minerals]]
[[Category:Chemical elements with diamond cubic structure]]
[[Category:Crystals in space group 227]]
[[Category:Crystals in space group 206]]
[[Category:Materials that expand upon freezing]]