Ge Germanium – Element Information, Facts, Properties, Trends,Uses, Comparison with other elements

Germanium History

The element Germanium was discovered by Clemens Winkler in year 1886 in Germany . Germanium derived its name from Germania, the Latin name for Germany

Germanium Presence: Abundance in Nature and Around Us

The table below shows the abundance of Germanium in Universe, Sun, Meteorites, Earth's Crust, Oceans and Human Body.

Crystal Structure of Germanium

The solid state structure of Germanium is Face Centered Cubic.

The Crystal structure can be described in terms of its unit Cell. The unit Cells repeats itself in three dimensional space to form the structure.

Unit Cell Parameters

The unit cell is represented in terms of its lattice parameters, which are the lengths of the cell edges Lattice Constants (a, b and c)

and the angles between them Lattice Angles (alpha, beta and gamma).

The positions of the atoms inside the unit cell are described by the set of atomic positions ( x_i, y_i, z_i) measured from a reference lattice point.

The symmetry properties of the crystal are described by the concept of space groups. All possible symmetric arrangements of particles in three-dimensional space are described by the 230 space groups (219 distinct types, or 230 if chiral copies are considered distinct.

Space Group Name	Fm_ 3m
Space Group Number	225
Crystal Structure	Face Centered Cubic

Germanium Atomic and Orbital Properties

Germanium atoms have 32 electrons and the electronic shell structure is [2, 8, 18, 4] with Atomic Term Symbol (Quantum Numbers) ³P₀.

Atomic Number	32
Number of Electrons (with no charge)	32
Number of Protons	32
Mass Number	73
Number of Neutrons	41
Shell structure (Electrons per energy level)	[2, 8, 18, 4]
Electron Configuration	[Ar] 3d10 4s2 4p2
Valence Electrons	4s2 4p2
Oxidation State	-4;-3;-2;-1 1;2;3;4
Atomic Term Symbol (Quantum Numbers)	3P0

Shell Structure of Germanium - Electrons per energy level

n		s	p	d	f
1	K	2
2	L	2	6
3	M	2	6	10
4	N	2	2

Ground State Electronic Configuration of Germanium - neutral Germanium atom

The ground state electronic configuration of Neutral Germanium atom is [Ar] 3d10 4s2 4p2. The portion of Germanium configuration that is equivalent to the noble gas of the preceding period, is abbreviated as [Ar]. For atoms with many electrons, this notation can become lengthy and so an abbreviated notation is used.This is important as it is the Valence electrons 3d10 4s2 4p2, electrons in the outermost shell that determine the chemical properties of the element.

Unabbreviated electronic configuration of neutral Germanium

Complete ground state electronic configuration for the Germanium atom, Unabbreviated electronic configuration

1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p2

Atomic Structure of Germanium

Germanium atomic radius is 125 pm, while it's covalent radius is 122 pm.

Atomic Spectrum of Germanium

Germanium Chemical Properties: Germanium Ionization Energies and electron affinity

The electron affinity of Germanium is 119 kJ/mol

Ionization Energy of Germanium

Refer to table below for Ionization energies of Germanium

Germanium Physical Properties

Refer to below table for Germanium Physical Properties

Elastic Properties

Hardness of Germanium - Tests to Measure of Hardness of Element

Germanium Electrical Properties

Germanium is Semiconductor of electricity. Refer to table below for the Electrical properties of Germanium

Germanium Heat and Conduction Properties

Germanium Magnetic Properties

Optical Properties of Germanium

Acoustic Properties of Germanium

Germanium Thermal Properties - Enthalpies and thermodynamics

Refer to table below for Thermal properties of Germanium

Enthalpies of Germanium

Germanium Isotopes - Nuclear Properties of Germanium

Isotopes of rhodium. Naturally occurring Germanium has 4 stable isotope - 70Ge, 72Ge, 73Ge, 74Ge.

Regulatory and Health - Health and Safety Parameters and Guidelines

Database Search

List of unique identifiers to search the element in various chemical registry databases