Question

How does the following property vary on moving down the group 16?

Metallic character

Answer 1

1. The elements of group 16 have very little metallic character at the top of the group.
2. Oxygen and sulphur are typical non-metals and insulators.
3. Moving down the group, metallic character increases gradually.
4. Selenium and tellurium behave like semiconductors.
5. Polonium, the last element, is metallic in nature.
6. This increase in metallic character is because ionisation energy and electronegativity decrease down the group.
7. Lower ionisation energy means electrons are lost more easily, increasing metallic character.

Thus, metallic character increases on moving down group 16 from oxygen to polonium.