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When silicon fills the role of carbon: Debut of all-silicon cyclopentadienides
- February 6, 2026 at 5:40 PM
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Carbon's unique chemical properties allow it to be an essential building block for life on Earth and many other molecules we rely on for day-to-day life—but what about carbon's neighbor? Silicon is located one row below carbon in the periodic table of elements, and similarly has many possible uses, and is a key component of semiconductors, silicon carbide fibers, and silicones. However, silicon has some key weaknesses compared to carbon.
Originally published at Phys.org