Germanium (Ge) - Atomic, Physical & Chemical Properties, Uses, and Periodic Table Trends

Germanium is majorly used in the semiconductor industry. When it is loaded with other elements, it makes highly efficient transistors. It is also implemented in fluorescent lamps.

• Semiconductors: Germanium is used in the production of semiconductor devices, such as transistors and diodes.
• Fiber Optics: Germanium is used in fiber optic systems to improve signal transmission.

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

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
Number of atoms per unit cell	4

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
Valence (Valency)	4
Main Oxidation States	-4, 2, 4
Oxidation States	-4, -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4
Atomic Term Symbol (Quantum Numbers)	3P0

Bohr Atomic Model of Germanium - Electrons per energy level

n		s	p	d	f

Ground State Electronic Configuration of Germanium - neutral Germanium atom

Abbreviated electronic configuration of Germanium

The ground state abbreviated 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 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

Electrons are filled in atomic orbitals as per the order determined by the Aufbau principle, Pauli Exclusion Principle and Hund’s Rule.

As per the Aufbau principle the electrons will occupy the orbitals having lower energies before occupying higher energy orbitals. According to this principle, electrons are filled in the following order: 1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p, 4s, 3d, 4p, 5s, 4d, 5p, 6s, 4f, 5d, 6p, 7s, 5f, 6d, 7p…

The Pauli exclusion principle states that a maximum of two electrons, each having opposite spins, can fit in an orbital.

Hund's rule states that every orbital in a given subshell is singly occupied by electrons before a second electron is filled in an orbital.

Atomic Structure of Germanium

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

Spectral Lines of Germanium - Atomic Spectrum of Germanium

A spectral line is a dark or bright line in an otherwise uniform and continuous spectrum, resulting from an excess or deficiency of photons in a narrow frequency range, compared with the nearby frequencies. Spectral lines are often used to identify atoms and molecules.

Spectral lines are the result of interaction between a quantum system and a single photon. A spectral line may be observed either as an emission line or an absorption line.

Spectral lines are highly atom-specific, and can be used to identify the chemical composition of any medium. Several elements, including helium, thallium, and caesium, were discovered by spectroscopic means. They are widely used to determine the physical conditions of stars and other celestial bodies that cannot be analyzed by other means.

Emission spectrum of Germanium

Absorption spectrum of Germanium

The electron affinity of Germanium is 119 kJ/mol.

Ionization Energy of Germanium

Ionization energy is the amount of energy required to remove an electron from an atom or molecule.in chemistry, this energy is expresed in kilocalories per mole (kcal/mol) or kilojoules per mole (kJ/mol).

Refer to table below for Ionization energies of Germanium

Here are the ionization energies of Germanium (Ge) both in electron volts (eV) and in kilojoules per mole (kJ/mol).

Refer to below table for Germanium Physical Properties

Elastic Properties

Hardness of Germanium - Tests to Measure of Hardness of Element

Germanium Electrical Properties

Electrical resistivity measures element's electrical resistance or how strongly it resists electric current.The SI unit of electrical resistivity is the ohm-metre (Ω⋅m). While Electrical conductivity is the reciprocal of electrical resistivity. It represents a element's ability to conduct electric current. The SI unit of electrical conductivity is siemens per metre (S/m).

Germanium is a Semiconductor. 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

Refer to table below for Thermal properties of Germanium

Enthalpies of Germanium

Germanium has 32 isotopes, with between 58 and 89 nucleons. Germanium has 4 stable naturally occuring isotopes.

Isotopes of Germanium - Naturally occurring stable Isotopes: 70Ge, 72Ge, 73Ge, 74Ge.

The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) identifies hazard class of all dangerous elements/goods/commodities either by its class (or division) number or name. The DOT has divided these materials into nine different categories, known as Hazard Classes.

NFPA 704 is a Standard System for the Identification of the Hazards of Materials for Emergency Response. NFPA is a standard maintained by the US based National Fire Protection Association.

The health (blue), flammability (red), and reactivity (yellow) rating all use a numbering scale ranging from 0 to 4. A value of zero means that the element poses no hazard; a rating of four indicates extreme danger.

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