ABSTRACT

Silicon is the second most abundant element after oxygen in the

earth crust. It is also one of the most studied elements because of its

use in industries of prime importance. The outer electron orbitals

have the same structure as in carbon. Silicon has 14 electrons.

Ten of them will be found in the 1s , 2s and 2p orbitals close to the nucleus, the next two going into the 3s orbital. The remaining ones will be in two separate 3p orbitals. The electronic structure of silcon is normally written in the form 1s22s22p63s23p1x3p