Now, the interesting part about silicon dioxide is the flexibility of its $\ce{Si–O–Si}$ angles, i.e. the bond angle of the bridging oxygen atoms; they vary from $100$ to $180$ degrees (the latter occurs in hexagonal tridymite, see e.g. here), depending on the polymorph.

Mar 30, 2018 · I was wondering why silicon dioxide tends to be a covalent bond instead of an ionic bond. Based on lewis structures, the octet rule seems to work for silicon dioxide so shouldn't it also be an ioni...

Sep 15, 2022 · I was wondering about this in class, drawing the structures of carbon dioxide and silicon dioxide. Carbon and silicon are both in Group 4/14, but coming up with oxygen, one can only form a simple molecular structure while the other can form a giant covalent structure. I found no satisfactory in my chemistry textbook and online.

Mar 21, 2013 · Coordinate covalent bonds imply the donation of two electrons to a bond with another atom. In the case of $\ce{ SiO2 }$, The structure is actually tetrahedral, with an oxygen between and two silicon atoms, and where each oxygen forms two …

Jul 25, 2016 · Covalent vs Ionic bond in Silicon dioxide. 3. Silicon–Boron Covalent Bond. 1.

Feb 12, 2016 · O-Si-O angles are perfectly tetrahedral (109.5 °) SiO_2 is not formed of molecules, but is a giant covalent lattice. In it every silicon atom is surrounded by four oxygen atoms, while each oxygen atom is surrounded by two silicon atoms.

Instead, only a lower energy tetrahedral network of σ bond forms, giving us silica as we know it. This explains why $\ce{SiO2}$ cannot form double-bonded molecules like $\ce{CO2}$. Also, single Si-O bonds are especially stable (466 kJ mol-1) and short. This is attributed to the overlap between oxygen’s p orbitals and silicon’s empty d ...

Oct 2, 2014 · Like what @GeoffHutchison said, $\ce{SiO2}$ is not an ion. It is a network solid. Its net charge is zero. From charge balance, since oxygen holds a -2 formal charge, then silicon must hold a +4 formal charge in order to balance out. $(+4) + (+2 \times -2) = 0$

Aug 22, 2016 · $\ce{SiO_2}$ is a network covalent compound that has an extremely high melting and boiling point, because many silicon-oxygen bonds have to be broken in order for it to achieve the necessary freedom. To clarify, SiO2, which has a tetrahedra network lattice formation, shows that each silicon is actually bonded to 4 oxygens; each oxygen is bonded ...

Aug 1, 2015 · The simple version is that silicon oxygen bonds are strong relative to their double-bond equivalents whereas carbon-oxygen double bonds are strong relative to their single bond equivalents. Or, more precisely, if we could make a carbon-oxygen network solid with the equivalent structure to silica, it would tend to fall apart into carbon dioxide.