metalloid

(noun)

A chemical element with properties in between those of nonmetals and metals.

Related Terms

Examples of metalloid in the following topics:

  • Elemental Boron

    • Boron is produced by cosmic ray spallation, is a metalloid, and is essential to life.
    • Chemically uncombined boron, which is classified as a metalloid, is not found naturally on Earth.

  • Elements and Compounds

    • The chemical elements are divided into the metals, the metalloids, and the non-metals.
    • Metalloids have some characteristics of metals and some characteristics of non-metals.
    • Silicon and arsenic are metalloids.
    • The periodic table shows 118 elements, including metals (blue), nonmetals (red), and metalloids (green).

  • The Periodic Table

    • An introduction to the periodic table which identifies metals, ,nonmetals, and metalloids by location and compares and contrasts the physical properties of metals and nonmetals.

  • Properties of Hydrogen

    • Compounds that have hydrogen bonding with metals and metalloids are known as hydrides.

  • General Trends in Chemical Properties

    • The p block includes the last six groups, which are Groups 13 to 18 in IUPAC (3A to 8A in American), and contains, among others, all of the metalloids.

  • Variation of Physical Properties Within a Group

    • Poor metals and metalloids (somewhat metal, somewhat non-metal) are in the lower left of the p block.

  • Oxides

    • Metals tend to form basic oxides, non-metals tend to form acidic oxides, and amphoteric oxides are formed by elements near the boundary between metals and non-metals (metalloids).