Definitions
There is no universally agreed or rigorous definition of a metalloid. The feasibility of establishing a specific definition has also been questioned, noting anomalies can be found in several such attempted constructs. Classifying any particular element as a metalloid has been described as 'arbitrary'.
The generic definition set out at the start of this article is based on metalloid attributes consistently cited in the literature. Illustrative definitions and extracts include:
- 'In chemistry a metalloid is an element with properties intermediate between those of metals and nonmetals.'
- 'Between the metals and nonmetals in the periodic table we find elements… share some of the characteristic properties of both the metals and nonmetals, making it difficult to place them in either of these two main categories.'
- 'Chemists sometimes use the name metalloid…for these elements which are difficult to classify one way or the other.'
- 'Because the traits distinguishing metals and nonmetals are qualitative in nature, some elements do not fall unambiguously in either category. These elements…are called metalloids…'.
More broadly, metalloids have also been referred to as:
- 'elements that…are somewhat of a cross between metals and nonmetals' or
- 'weird in-between elements.'
The criterion that metalloids are difficult to unambiguously classify one way or the other is a key tenet. In contrast, elements such as sodium and potassium 'have metallic properties to a high degree' and fluorine, chlorine and oxygen 'are almost exclusively nonmetallic.' Although most other elements have a mixture of metallic and nonmetallic properties most such elements can also be classified as either metals or nonmetals according to which set of properties are regarded as being more pronounced in them. It is only the elements at or near the margins, ordinarily those that are regarded as lacking a sufficiently clear preponderance of metallic or nonmetallic properties, which are classified as metalloids.
Read more about this topic: Metalloid
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