Germanium

Germanium: the essentials

 Brief description: the element is a gray-white metalloid, and in its pure state is crystalline and brittle, retaining its lustre in air at room temperature. It is a very important semiconductor material. Zone-refining techniques have led to production of crystalline germanium for semiconductor use with an impurity of only one part in 10^-10.

Certain germanium compounds have a low mammalian toxicity, but a clear activity against certain bacteria, which makes them of interest as chemotherapeutic agents.

Isolation

Isolation: there is normally no need to make germanium in the laboratory as it is readily available commercially. Germanium is available through the treatment of germanium dioxide, GeO₂, with carbon or hydrogen. The extraction of germanium from flue dust is complex because of the difficulty in separating it from zinc, which is also present.

GeO₂ + 2C → Ge + 2CO

GeO₂ + 2H₂ → Ge + 2H₂O

Very pure germanium can be made by the reaction of GeCl₄ with hydrogen.

GeCl₄ + 2H₂ → Ge + 4HCl

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