Atomic number 32
Germanium
Metalloid
Quick facts
- Atomic mass
- 72.630
- Group
- 14
- Period
- 4
- State (STP)
- solid
- Electronegativity
- 2.01
- Common ox. states
- +2, +4
Properties
Electron configuration
[Ar] 3d¹⁰ 4s² 4p²
- Ionization energy
- 762.0 kJ/mol
- Electron affinity
- 119.0 kJ/mol
- Melting point
- 1211.40 K (938.3 °C)
- Boiling point
- 3106.00 K (2832.8 °C)
How it bonds
Germanium is a metalloid below silicon: 4 valence electrons, 4 covalent bonds in GeO₂ and GeCl₄. The first transistors (1947) were made of germanium before silicon won the semiconductor industry.