What is the Ionic Charge of Silicon (Si)? And Why?

The common Ionic Charges of Silicon (Si) are 4- and 4+.

But the question is how can you find the ionic charge on Silicon (Si)?

Well, silicon is one of the elements that have a variable ionic charge.

The ionic charge of silicon depends on what it is bonded with.

So let’s try to find out the ionic charge of Silicon (Si) using some examples.

If you are a visual learner like me, then here is a short two minute video for you.

How to find the ionic charge of Silicon (Si)?

As I mentioned earlier, the ionic charge of Silicon (Si) can be found out by looking at what it is bonded with.

So let’s take examples of compounds of Silicon (Si) like SiCl₄, SiO₂, SiH₄, etc.

Example 1: SiCl₄
In SiCl₄, the Silicon (Si) is bonded to Chlorine (Cl).
You know that the ionic charge of Cl is 1-.
So you can easily say that the ionic charge of Si should be 4+, then only it will get canceled out.
Hence the ionic charge of Silicon in SiCl₄ is 4+.

Example 2: SiO₂
In SiO₂, the Silicon (Si) is bonded to Oxygen (O).
And again, you know that the ionic charge of O is 2-.
So here also you can easily say that the ionic charge of Si should be 4+, then only it will get canceled out.
Hence the ionic charge of Silicon in SiO₂ is 4+.

Example 3: SiH₄
Similarly in SiH₄, the Silicon (Si) is bonded to Hydrogen (H).
And you know that the ionic charge of H is 1+.
So from this, you can easily say that the ionic charge of Si should be 4-, then only it will get canceled out.
Hence the ionic charge of Silicon in SiH₄ is 4-.

In this way, Silicon can have variable charges depending on what it is bonded to.

But as seen from the above examples,
The most common charges of Silicon (Si) are 4- and 4+.

I hope you have understood why silicon has variable ionic charges.

Check out some other related topics for your practice.

Related topics:
Charge on HCl (Hydrochloric acid)
Charge of CH3
Charge of Rubidium (Rb)
Charge on CN (Cyanide ion)
Charge of Selenium (Se)