Silicon: an element between metals and non-metals
Silicon, Si, has atomic number 14 and is in Group 14. Its atoms have four valence electrons. Crystalline silicon has a giant covalent structure: each atom is bonded to neighbouring silicon atoms in a three-dimensional network. It is hard and brittle rather than malleable.
Silicon is a semiconductor. Its electrical conductivity lies between that of a conductor and an insulator and can be controlled by temperature and by adding very small amounts of selected elements, a process called doping. This controllability makes purified silicon important in electronic devices and solar cells. Silicon is not the same substance as silicone, a family of polymers containing Si–O chains and organic groups.