Question

Give reasons for the following:

Carbon shows catenation but silicon does not.

Answer 1

Catenation is the way that atoms connect to each other. Due to the small size of carbon, carbon-carbon (C – C) bonds are very strong and stable. Silicon also has catenation, but only up to 7-8 atoms, because the Si – Si bond is much weaker because silicon atoms are bigger. This makes the chains that form unstable.