Silicon with a Two-Dimensional Structure

Changes to the natural tetrahedral structure of silicon ( top left ) in an unusual square planar geometry ( bottom right ). Ebner/Greb (Heidelberg) - Heidelberg chemists succeed in producing synthesis and complete characterisation for the first time Silicon, a semi-metal, bonds in its natural form with four other elements and its three-dimensional structure takes the form of a tetrahedron. For a long time, it seemed impossible to achieve the synthesis and characterisation of a two-dimensional equivalent - geometrically speaking, a square. Now scientists from the field of Inorganic Chemistry at Heidelberg University have succeeded in producing a crystalline complex with such a configuration. PD Dr Lutz Greb from the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry underlines that it has surprising physical and chemical properties and, in the field of molecular chemistry, will open up new approaches to using the second most abundant element in the Earth's crust for catalysis and materials research. As a classical semi-metal, silicon possesses properties of both metals and non-metals, and belongs to the carbon group on the periodic table. Like carbon, silicon bonds with four elements.