Question

Find the allotropes of silicon.
A.Amorphous Silicon.
B.Crystalline Silicon.
C.Both A and B.
D.Silicon has no allotropes.

Answer 1

Hint: We know that Carbon has four allotropes among them diamond and graphite are the well-known allotropes. Allotropism is nothing but it is the property of a chemical element when an element has two or more forms in the same physical state it is termed as allotropes. Allotropes usually have the same chemical property but they differ in their physical property.

Complete answer:
We know that silicon has two allotropic forms.
Let us discuss the allotropes of silicon.
Amorphous Silicon: Amorphous silicon is a non-crystalline form (powder form) of silicon. The color of this allotrope is brown and some atoms present in the structure are not bonded to their maximum capacity which accounts for the flexibility of silicon.
Applications of amorphous silicon are:
1.Amorphous silicon is a semiconductor that acts as both conductor and insulator of electricity hence it is used for solar cells which are used in calculators and watches.
2.It is deposited as a thin film on the rooftop of solar panels.
Crystalline silicon: It is a metallic grey substance and is also called polycrystalline silicon. Crystalline silicon looks like a small crystal and the atoms present in the structure are bonded strongly which makes it stronger than amorphous silicon.
Applications of Crystalline silicon are:
1.It is used in solar cells.
2.Used in microchips of electronic gadgets like computers and phones.

So, the correct answer is C.

Note:
We can distinguish crystalline and amorphous solids by using X-ray diffraction analysis. Crystals have a well-defined structure that diffract x-rays and give well-resolved patterns while amorphous solids have an irregular shape and do not give well-resolved x-ray diffraction patterns.